


Second chance

by gutterfortunecookie



Series: Sunday Smut Spotlight [1]
Category: Future!Tom Hiddleston
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapping, Oral Sex, Shock, Shower Sex, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 08:51:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3284330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutterfortunecookie/pseuds/gutterfortunecookie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you wake in the aftermath of a major disaster? 200 years from now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. But a dream...

The boys were gone with their dad. 9:02 am. Maybe I'd write for a little bit then...

Gah!

Things were only getting worse. No one was answering their texts. I watch Mom sleeping in her bed as the dogs sleep around her. How we have been able to keep up with four boy dogs, I have no idea.

I tiptoe back down the stairs, careful not to make a sound when I hear an alarm go off. She must have someone calling her. I step carefully down the stairs to try and make it to my room.

"Shit! Justine!"

Damn. She must know I'm on the stairs.

"Justine, are you there?"

I guess not. I could grab my things and haul it out the backdoor and down the street to the library as there were no windows in the back of the house. The last step suprises me as I almost twist my ankle. I stop at the bottom level of the attic and quickly try to silence my phone. I could feel my keys in my pajama pocket as I ran to find a hiding spot before she makes the stairs.

I duck down under the christmas decorations and pray that she doesn't try to call my phone. If she did, then I could always lie and say I was already at the library. Then I would have to wait until she was gone.

I hear her stumbling down the stairs as I see her in her uniform, confirming that she'd accept a job for the day. I watch as I see my mother hurry down the stairs, not aware that I'm there. Her raven black hair curls in her ponytail as I huddle back in my fort of decorations.

I closed my eyes and count to 100 when her car starts up. My ankle doesn't really hurt so much now but I know I should take it slow and think of what to do with my pathetic life. I look down to my phone.

9:15.

I flip through the photos and find one of my brothers attempting to wrestle me to the ground. Another is of me and Nick last weekend before he went back home. We had finished having sex and he snapped a picture of us with my phone as I laid exhausted on his chest.

The picture was so beautiful because after he left he never answered back one of my texts. Perhaps it was for the best. I open my messenger.

_~~Heyhey_

_*Mrning beautiful_

_~~I miss you_

_*I know_

Damn. Not enough.

_~~I know this is a lot to take but I want to see you again and not as a nightcap. What do you say?_

He knew I liked him for the longest time. I check the screen after a few minutes and bite at my nails.

9:27.

The door slams, the boys must be home.

"Justine! You here, baby?"

I shrink deeper into my hole and wish she would just go away. I know I was being ungrateful but something had to give. I look at the phone as it lights up. I see it's Nick and the screen goes black. No flashing warning, no fading chime. Only darkness.

"Justi..."

Silence.

"Mama?"

I shove my phone in my pocket. My body feels warm in an instant as I take an uncomforting breath. My skin heats up like a furnace as I wiggle out of my christmas fort. The window to the attic is normal but glass litters the floor. I step around what I could as I listen closely. I want to move to the stairs but something keeps me away. My heart feels like it wants to drop.

"Mama!"

Still silence. Except for a low hum at the back of the attack. I follow it hoping I don't fall into Narnia. My toe steps on a large piece of glass and it liquifyies instead of causing me pain. I step forward towards the empty room and the back of the attic.

The little hall calls me or I think it does. The glass turns to water under my feet and the wood starts to mold into footprints with every step. I turn back, looking down the hallway, wanting to call out to my mother again but my legs grow weak as I stumble forward.

The walls to the room start dripping with water. I push the door open and my arms are light as I lift them. My lungs are constricted as I breathe, tasting something foreign, like plastic. My streaked hair starts to float as I make it to the center of the empty room. The hum grows louder and there are voices.

Why are there voices?

My arms shoot up, feeling the ceiling ripple under my touch. I push and push until I am completely surrounded by water. My nails claw at the low ceiling as light blinds me. My body is pulled up through the wildly rippled ceiling and lights shine at me from everywhere.

My eyes shoot to nothing but blue. A flashing red light helps me see better as I look around. My legs start kicking against my glass surrounding as I tumble to the ground. My throat feels like it's closing as my mouth tries to form words. My teeth and lips form around the plastic I was tasting.

Someone bangs on the glass across the room as I pull the plastic from my mouth. I choke on my spit and try not to vomit as the plastic turns into a long tube that I gag on more than once.

A voice rings from the ceiling.

"Thomas! Fuck the charts and get in there now!"

The banging gets louder as it distracts me from trying not to get sick on myself. The end of the tube clinks to the floor as I pull myself to a sink. I am suprised at the strength that I have as I throw-up a blue liquid that tastes like glue.

The man that was banging on the door runs to me as it flies open with a lab coat in his hands. My dripping, jellies body crashes to the ground in a blur as I remember his pale blue eyes, much brighter than the ceiling.

"Hold on, Evelyn. We've got you."

-

I take a breath of fresh air as a cloth is over my head. So much had happened while I passed out. I couldn't tell but I knew.

"Try not to move."

I shake as I try to stay as still as I can. My throat feels like its burning and my voice cracks in the dead silence.

"Shh, it's okay."

It was the man from the glass doors. Ihad seen his face and heard his voice but bot together. His voice was soothing and strangely inviting. I know its him, I'm not sure how but I just know.

"Can you take my hand?"

His palm brushes against mine as I clutch onto it for dear life. I start to silently cry.

"I need your help, dear. I'm going to push your back up to sit. Can you do that for me? Can you shake your head?"

I shake my head so he can see. The cloth is light but I start to feel claustraphobic as I sit up. My body is weak as he braces me, pulling my legs over the edge. Was it a table?

"I'm going to take the first cloth off now, there's two. I need you to keep your eyes closed, okay?"

I nod again and closed my eyes as tight as I can. I feel the first one move away and I grimace at the brightness of the light through my eyes lids and the last cloth. He shushes me as the lights lower. I feel his hand on the side of my face. I try to move away from him as he lightly chuckle.

"It's okay, it's okay. We're here to help."

"My eyes hurt."

"Hmm."

I hear a faint beep and something steadily moving.

"Log number 1034. Subject Evelyn. 11:25 Pre-morn Date 2.4.2219. Subject is showing basic vocal understandings and weak motor skills. Evelyn still suffers from the aftershocks of waking from the Frost."

I hear something else move and I feel him move forward as he tilts my head up.

"I'm going to take off the second sheet in a moment. This time, I need you to keep your eyes open as I put the drops in. They will help your pupils adjust after being undulated for so long. Ready?"

I shake my head and feel a second pair of hands hold my arms down.

"Alright. Starting occular reboot now."

The cloth is snatched from my face and I keep my eyes open. His hand holds my face up as the drops fall into my eyes, burning as they move. I cry out from the heat as he tries to hold me steady.

"It's okay, only a little longer."

"It hurts," I cry.

"Try not to tear or it won't work."

I take a deep breath and ride out the pain as my eyes start to cool. The man lets go as my eyes feel soothed. He gently rubs a wet towel across my face.

"How do they feel now?"

"Better."

"You can open them now. Slowly."

My eyelids open slowly as the blue returns.

"Blue everywhere."

"You get used to it after a while."

The blue faded into other colors as the blur in front of me turns into the man from before. His blond curly hair is slicked back as he leans back in his chair. His clothes are plain and grey with the exception of his white lab coat. Another person stands beside me as they take notes on an electric pad. My eyes go back to the man. He smiles as he adjusts his glasses.

"Hello, Darling."

"H-hello."

"Evelyn, how are you feeling?"

"Justine."

"Hmm?"

"My name is Justine."

"Do you remember your full name?"

"Justine. Elizabeth. Warnick."

"Amazing."

He turns away to type on his keyboard as I look around the room. It seems like a simple enough examination room with the exception of a few strange things against the walls.

"How are you feeling, Justine?"

"I don't know. Where am I?"

He stops typing and presses a button to make the steady noise stop. He takes my hand and leans forward.

"I'm not sure I can tell you yet."

"Why?"

"You could go into shock."

I can feel myself holding back tears as he sits up straight.

"My name is Doctor Thomas Hiddleston and a lot of things have changed."

He ushers the other person to his side. The young boy is leaner and younger than him and me. The Doctor signs something and lets him leave.

"Where's my mother?"

He sighs as he tries to take my hand again but I push him away as my heart starts beating fast knowing that something is wrong. He sighs as he finds his words.

"Why won't you tell me anything?"

"Justine, I need you to calm down. Please?"

I know I'm aggravating him more but it will give me my answer.

"You either tell me or I'm walking outside and finding out for myself!"

"If you go outside by yourself, you are going to die!"

The temper of his words haul as I drop my mouth.

"Justine, I-I'm sorry I shou..."

I start crying because I know the answer isn't going to be what I want it to be. He pulls me from the table and leads me to a shuttered window as he runs his hand through his hair.

"We were going to wait a few more days but you would find out sooner or later as your vitals are still weak."

"Where is my mother?"

He presses a screen on the wall as the shutters slowly dissolve away.

"Your mother is dead. As is whomever else you may have known. Almost two hundred years ago, a bomb went off and ithadcertain side effects to the environment."

He points to the sky for a moment.

"It completely dissolved the O-zone layer and distroyed 90% of the oxygen on earth. Life was burned and as the ash settled, the earth was frozen, perserved until it returned to normal again. After the first century passed, the layer started to heal itself but the air remained thin. Now the air is so pure that it has devestating effects to those without protection."

I look out the window and see people on the ground, walking with masks on their faces. The buildings look new but have some wear to them. The sky is the bluest I've ever seen. Down the street, a tree flows in the wind but the leaves are white and twisted as they fall to the ground. Everything was so beautiful but dead to me at the same time. I know most of what he said went through my ears.

A rang snaps me out of my daze as the doctor answers a phone with his back to me. The young assistant enters again as he swipes his badge to close the door. The doctor points to me as things quickly turn grey in my eyes. A small lump in my throat hitches my breath and my shoulders start to shake. The boy barely makes it to me as I knock him to the ground with my fist and swipe his keycard from his body.

I run from the room without looking back as the Doctor shouts for me. My feet carry me down the hall as I find a staircase. I press it to the screen and the door openes. My memory haunts me as I remember to watch my footing on the stairs. I make it to the ground level as my tears are uncontrolable. I had no idea where I was but I wanted to keep on running, I just didn't care where.

_If you go outside by yourself, you are going to die!_

The people were wearing masks for a reason. I wanted to see why, so I walk to a door as a young woman is handing out plastic masks. I look to the people as they put their's on, stepping into an airlock as they scan the masks to the wall. I wipe my face to blend in. A thunder erupts from the staircases behind me as the red lights go off again.

"Justine!"

The doctor runs in my direction as I push my way to the airlock. I step in just as the door seal with a hiss. He bangs on the glass again as my tears return and my sobs worsen.

My jaw trembles as I remember the sound of my mother's voice. He calls out my name the same way she did the day she died.

Died.

I didn't want to live anymore, not if she wasn't there. I regret not calling out to her as I scan the mask without putting it on. The doors open as I shield my eyes from the beautiful sunlight. The people with mask back away from me as I start to walk to the white tree at the end of the pavement.

My lungs fill with clean air and pain as I start to cough. I can see her leaning against the tree in her scrubs as she calls my name with a smile. I want to run into her arms and tell her about this nightmare.

"Mama?!"

The tears burn my eyes and I cough into my hand. Blood covers my palm as I fall into the tree, holding onto it for dear life.

I can hear her voice again as I push myself away from the bark. I can feel blood dripping from the side of my mouth as I hit the pavement. Arms grab me and pull me up from the ground.

"Have a team prepped! Get her to the rear, now!"

I look up, feeling more blood drip from my nose as a mask covers my face. The dirty air makes it easier to breathe.

"I've got you, Justine."

I look up again and see the familiar pale blue eyes from over the mask as my own rolls into the back of my head. Everything starts to calm itself as my body flails in the doctor's arms.

"Get Evelyn inside, now! She's not responding!"

Images come back in a enormous flash. The brown cardboard boxes start to burn as my skin sweats. My lungs disappear and my nails claw at the floor to get away from the rapid fire. The floor boards underneath me break as I fall through, landing painfully on my side. The dogs howl and scream in pain as the voices die out one by one until I only hear my mother scream. After a moment, her voice dies out too.

I hear a thud and look up to see her body, flesh and clothes burning before I am crushed with falling wooden beams.


	2. Evelyn

" _NO_!"

My lungs ache as I shoot up in bed. The doctor runs to my side but not in enough time to pull me back in the bed. My screams echo the empty room as he dives to my side. The inhumane shrieks pour from me as he craddles me.

He doesn't say a word. I can only cry into his chest as he holds me closer. After what seems like forever, he brushes the hair away from my face. He chuckles as he lifts me to the bed with ease. I wipe away the tears and straighten my clothes. I lay on my side as he pulls the covers up. I'm not really one for laughing right now. My eyes close and don't open again until the next morning when he draws blood from my arm.

"You promise not to runaway again?" I shake my head. "Say it."

"I promise not to runaway. Where would I go?"

"It's okay," he whispers.

"I'm sorry I ran. I just didn't want to live anymore."

He leaves my side and goes to his station on the other side of the roo.

The doors rush open and a female dressed in a business suit and straight blonde hair enters with a larger gentleman and a stern look on her face as she storms the room for Thomas, both not noticing I was resting in a bed near the far wall.

"What the hell, Hiddleston? What happened downstairs? I have a couple hundred people scared to the point that I had to put the building under quarentine! For nine hours!"

I slip silently from the bed, taking my time as I make my way to them. I stand quietly next to the large man as no one pays any attention to me. The wheels on my IV should have given me away.

"Marren, I'm sorry but there..."

"Save it, Thomas. You're just lucky I don't pull your rank out from underneath you. Keep your lab rat, in line!"

She turns to walk away and they are all shocked to see me out of bed.

"That was harsh."

"And you!"She's in charge and pissed, I didn't really care. 

I lean forward and brace the sides of the counter behind her as she gasps in fear. I feel just as angry as she does but I only have the strength to be calm.

"I'm not radioactive and I'm not threatening you, stop freaking out. None of this was his fault. All of this was because of what I did so don't punish him for it. I'm not going to tell you my story for your pity but let me give you a small recap of what I do remember. The day that all the crap happened, I heard my mother die. I fell through a floor of burning wood and landed next to my mother as she burned alive and it wasn't quick. Her flesh crisped up a piece of meat on a barbaque. She was a cunt but she was the only person that really cared about me. I understand now that I could have handled the news a different way but you were all going to wait to tell me after, what? A few days? I knew for a fact if the Doctor hadn't told me, I would have been tearing up this lab as we speak. Now, suicide is not my forte and you have my promise that I won't try to kill myself again."

I lift myself away and try to balance myself without help.

"You can stay mad at me, that's fine, but I'm here now and we're going to have to make the best of it. All I'm asking for is a second chance. Teach me to be apart of this."

I hold out my free hand to shake hers as she looks to me with shock on her face. Thomas holds his breath as he calmly shoves his hands into his lab coat pockets. The woman studies me for a second and shakes my hand with a smile.

"You're not what I thought you were going to be."

"Is that good or bad?"

She smirks as she pulls a small tablet from her pocket.

"Rest up today, Evelyn, I'd like to see you and the doctor tomorrow to discuss your future. I'm sure we're going to see promising things from you."

"Thank you."

The woman leaves with the large man behind her. He gives me an uneasy feeling as the doors slide shut. Thomas chuckles behind me.

"What?"

"I don't think I've ever heard her shut her mouth that quickly before. Come on, back into bed before you get into anymore trouble."

I take his arm and shuffle back to the bed with him.

"So eager to get me back into bed, Doctor?"

He laughs louder as I roll to my side and drift off for a nap as I watch the liquid drip from the IV bag.

\- 

"Here," he hands me a folder. I open it seeing pictures and profile of other people. "See if you know anyone else from the pictures."

"What?"

"They are also in sleep, like you were. Only a few thousand people were found in a perserved state. Take your time."

The pictures almost look like drawings and the faces of the people look dead. My stomach turns as I refuse to look at it anymore of at least for now. I was nervous that today was when I was going to see the Marren woman again and I wanted to make a better impression than I already had. I wish I had something fancier besides the grey. I look to the smallest speck of dried blood under my thumb when I coughed it up yesterday. He woke me early to do more tests on me and let me know soon we'd leave.

"I'm hungry."

He chuckles as he takes my hand. I grab the IV and bring it with me as he braces me weight on his arm.

"I guess it's time. Let me see your arm."

He pulls out the needle from my arm and quickly dresses it before I see any blood. He leads me to an elevator as he swipes his card.

"Why Evelyn?"

"What?"

"Why do you keep calling me  _Evelyn?"_

"We you were found you were of the first, so they figured they'd keep it simple. Eve, Evelyn. Sorry to say I've grown accustom to it."

"What I don't get an Adam? To be honest I never really liked my name to begin with."

"Well, I suppose you come change your name if you want to, seeing as you're going to have another chance at life."

The doors open to a spacious atrium. Men, women and children walk around, eating from wrappers and cartons as Tom leads me to to a counter as he hands me a sandwich wrapped in foil. I grimace at the taste as he finishes his own in no time.

"What's the matter?"

"It tastes funny."

"What does it taste like?"

"Like... stale chicken."

I scarf the rest of it down without another word as we make our way to a wider elevator. Someone escorts us to the top floor and down a series of hallways until we are made to wait.

"Are you alright?"

I look to Thomas as he reaches for whatever medical equipment he has stashed away in his jacket.

"Evelyn was my mother's name."

The door open as we are led into the blond woman's office. We both sit in front of a thin black desk. Thomas leans to me.

"Try to keep you hands on the chair and don't look so jittery," he whispers.

I tuck my hands under my butt just to be safe as the blond woman enters with a smile on her face.

"Good morning, you two. It's nice to see you're staying out of trouble."

She sits at her desk and activates a button as the top of the desk lifts up into a clear screen, like a thin window. She looks through the window to me.

"My name is Jakie Marren and I run this portion of the colonies. I'd like to extend my sincerest apologies for my tone with you both yesterday. Now, Subject Evelyn, name Justine Elizabeth Warnick. Can you tell me your date of birth?"

"Feburary 24th, 1990. AD?"

They both smile as she types.

"So you were 24 at the time of the blast. What was your occupation?"

"I worked in a bookstore. Shelfing, cataloging, ordering books. That kind of thing."

"What of your kin?"

Kin.

My skin started to feel tight as my hands move to my lap.

"Um..."

I don't feel Thomas as he touches my shoulder.

"It's okay, Justine. Just take your time."

"I had my mother, three brothers, their dad, and four dogs."

"Was he your father as well?"

"No, he was my brother's father. I hav... hadn't seen my father in years. He had a replacement family of his own."

"You weren't married? No children?"

"No. Of either. I'm not sure if I can have kids myself. My mother was told not to have children and there were four of us born. I inherited most of myself from her and it's always something I've thought about."

"We have someone here who can look into that if you wish."

"Okay."

I steady my breaths and blush when I see Thomas smiling at me.

"What?" I mouth to him.

Thomas shakes his head as he smooths back his hair.

"I was wondering if I could keep my name to Evelyn, if it's okay with you."

"Certainly. Ms. Evelyn Warnick. Welcome to Colony Delta. We can have implants installed in you so you can adapt to our living. It isn't something we are going to press upon you but It will be difficult for you to adjust with just waking. It will cause some discomfort but we all have them. The Ovan will explain them to you when you leave here. Doctor Hiddleston will guide you there."

She waves her hand and the screen fades out as it lowers down.

"Living arrangment will be difficult at the moment. We would have to find suitable living quaters for you to share so you are given the utmost care from one of our medical staff."

"I have a spare room in my quarters and my family has been her main physician for years. She is _my_ subject, n-no offense."

"None taken," I mutter with a giggle. "I don't mind. Anything to make this go smoother."

Jackie looks to Thomas like she had been slapped but she only sighed, waving off her doubt.

"Well, then. I guess that settled." She stands from her chair and shakes my hand firmly. "Ms. Evelyn Warnick, welcome to our colony. Doctor Hiddleston will take you to The Ovan's wing and you can begin your new life."

"Thank you, Miss Marren, for everything."

Thomas leads me back to the elevator and we ride down in silence as a cough escapes me.

"You alright," he asks.

"If I say yes, will you not reach into your pocket every five minutes? It kind of makes me nervous."

"Oh, sorry about that. It's just a force of habit."

I follow him through wave after wave of people as they laugh, chat and walk amounst us, unaware that I'm now one of them. They all seemed so... normal. I wondered if I was the only one like myself.

"Tom? Am I the first one to wake up?"

"No, actually. You are the second but the first female. The one before you was a man about twenty years older than you. His heart didn't make it after the first week."

"What are the other side-effects of waking-up?"

"Uh, well, first there's disorientation. Then tremors of the limbs so you may have the feeling of being weak for the next few days. You will have a hard time breathing also from waking and also from your walk outside but that's the minor of them."

My cheeks flush in embaressment as I cross my arms under my chest.

"The most severe is delusions and paranoia. If you start to see things out of the ordinary then I have to know for neurilogical reasons."

"Okay."

"The worst is if your body truly fails from heart failure or if you slip into a perminate psychosis. Then after that is death."

I absently shake my head to what could happen to me. I clear my throat and smile, ignoring my possible fate.

"Then I guess we better hurry up to get me to the Ovan."

 


	3. Not the worst

-

The halls are white, eggshellish colors. They feel inviting as we climb the steps to an office. They doors push open as I walk through and admire the soft lights at the top of the ceiling. Not a shade of blue in sight, except for Thomas' reaction to my blissful smile. We are greeted by an older woman looking in her fifties. She wears a lab coat like Thomas' with her greying hair braided up into a bun. I go in for a hand shake only to be enveloped with a strong hug as she lifts me easily from the ground. I'm breathless and shocked as she puts me down.

"Oh, my god." She says cupping my cheeks together with both hands. "She is so beautiful! She doesn't look a thing like everyone else. You better hurry up and marry her before someone else does."

"Please," whines Tom as he brushes his hair back in frustration, "That's not the reason why we're here!"

"Oh hush now, I already know." She turns to me with a warm smile. "So you are the Evelyn we've heard so much about."

"Wait, what?"

"I remember the first time I saw you sleeping when I started rotations but that was when I was 16. Time sure flew and you are still so glorious and resplendent." I follow her to a room of pink walls and medicial curtains. Still no blue.

"Why do they call you The Ovan?"

She hands me a gown to change into as I step behind one of the curtains to change.

"My name is Diana and I am a special kind of Doctor, dear. Thomas may be your physician but I specialize in women's health and when I was told you were coming here, I almost went through the roof."

I don't hide my laugh this time as Thomas' face turn red. I hop on the examination table as Diana pulls out the stir-ups. I put my feet up without hesitation and lay back as she lays a sheet over my open legs.

"You've always wanted to be a doctor?"

"Always. My son is a doctor but my husband is a chemist."

"That's nice."

"Yes and my four daughters are married with children of their own. My son however hasn't tried looking."

"Poor bastard. If you want, I can leave Thomas in his lab and you can give me to your son."

Diana drops the instrument in her hands and laughs as Thomas' face turns completely red as he leans against the wall with his head in his hands. His glasses fall to the ground completely.

"What's your problem, man?" He only shakes his head. "Did I miss something?"

"You've already met my son."

"No, I...", and that was when it hit me. Like a brick wall. The epiphany makes me fall to the floor and flush red as I clench my robe together.

"You asshole!" Diana controls herself a bit as she helps me up. "I'm so sorry, Diana."

"It's fine, dear. Are you going to be okay?" I cough away the shock as I keep my eyes from Tom.

"I'll be okay. Your son neglected to mention that you were his mother on our twenty minute walk here and I'm sure he wasn't going to say anything until I was on the examination table. You're only his mother and he's still in the room while you're staring into my coochie."

"My god," says Thomas as he picks up his glasses, "This was a horrendous idea."

No, maybe now was a good time as any to have a little fun with him.

"You were the one that let me meet your mother and she actually approves of me. No one ever approves of me. How do you think our babies will look, Doctor Hiddleston? Miss Diana? What do you think?"

"Oh, I would die happily to see more grandchildren."

Thomas scans his card to the door before he turn around, completely embaressed by us.

"I have other matters to attend to. Please, behave the best you can and I'll be back in a few hours."

"You're asking me to behave while leaving me in the care of your mother." I snicker to myself. "What could possibly go wrong?" He shakes his head as he walks away from us. "Oh, come on, Thomas! Come back!"

"That was the most I've laughed in years, my dear. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I smile to myself as she fixes my legs back on the table. She is quick when she examines me and notices my nervousness.

"We're almost done, dear. You are doing great. If it makes you feel any better, I've examined all my daughters and they were just as nervous as you."

"That's not really the thing I'm worried about."

"You think you may be sterile?"

"What good will I be if I can't have a baby? Especially now?"

She places her hand on the edge of my foot as I try to hold back my tears.

"We're done, dear. You can get up now." I wipe my tears behind her back as she takes swabs from a tray and arranges them onto dishes. "These tests will take a while, Evelyn. If you want you can do behind the far door and wash up. Take the time that you need."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you."

I enter the door and find a large restroom. I tub rests in the corner and is deep enough for my tastes. I press the screen and carefully choose the settings as I watch the water rise. The steaming water calls me forward as I strip. The screen beeps as it says FINISHED. I see another button labeled Aroma Therapy. My finger jumps as the screen lights up, flooding with choices. I choose vanilla and lavender as the room fills with a relaxing feeling.

I step in and sigh at the oasis I've created. The hot water soothes my aching muscles as my bandages get wet. I curse to myself and lift myself to pull them off. Instead of fluffing up as other bandages would, the water slides off the scretched plastic, uneffected by the water. I settle back in as I let the water soothe me as I rest against the side of the tub, leaving my eyes to close.

I can feel him between my legs as he kisses my neck. He grabs my waist as my hair falls onto my shoulder. We pant and laugh as I rest on his torso. He grabs at his phone and sees me try to take it out of his hand. I keep forgetting to put it on lock.

"Hey! Put that down!"

" _Just one picture, you should see how beautiful you look right now_."

I had an issue with that word but as long as it came out of his mouth, I didn't care. He snaps the pic as I close my eyes.

"I'm going miss you, Cheese."

_"I know."_

He hand rubs my back in small circles as it goes lower until it rests at my cheek. He reaches down and drags me up in one fluid movement as I laugh in surprise. I peel off the condom and wipe him off with my wet towel. He tears the foil off of another one and lets me rolls it on as he kisses my neck. I moan as I finish. He leans me back to take a hardened nipple into his mouth as he drags my naked hips closer to his lap.

"Nick."

_"Say it again."_

"Nicholi," I moan into his ginger curls.

I take in a deep breath and can smell smoke as my body ignores it.

- 

Thomas paced back to The Ovan's office ready to tell Evelyn of the good news. His smile and humming would surely give him away to his mother but he didn't care, as long as Evelyn started to smile again. Diana greeted him at the screen as she smiled to her son.

"Well," she started, "She is clear of any and all diseases, inherited or transmitted, so that's good. She will start her monthly cycle soon unless she wants the implant for that, which I'm sure she will."

"Because mother knows best?"

"Don't you sass me, boy. You keep an eye on her and so help me God if anything happens to her like that monster did to the other."

"Really, Mother? Are you out of your blinking mind? Why would I do that to her?"

"You haven't told her yet, have you? Did you tell you she was the first?"

"I told her she was the second."

"When she gets out, you better tell her the truth and stop being so scared. You are a wonderful doctor and have kept her alive for this long like all the others before you. Now, should you be lucky enough to marry her, I, as well as you, am going to make sure she is properly cared for."

"Will you stop thinking I don't do my job properly?"

"I'm just saying, as The Ovan, she is 100% able to have a child. Can you say that is a miracle? Most women now go as far as 75%."

"She will be ecstatic to hear that news," he chuckled. "Where is she now?"

"The bath. I believe she has more than deserved it. Didn't you say you would be back in a few hours?"

"My errand started the other day when she ran. I wanted her to have a little bit of home with her, to put on a fresh chip for her to keep. Your ultrasound machine can help with that."

"Really now? What good is a chip going to do for her?"

On cue, two men arrive with a sterilized package and open it carefully. They scan the contents one last time as they approve that it is safe to handle. Thomas reaches in as the men leave. The device in his hand is placed on the table as Diana stares in wonder.

"What is it?"

"It was found on her when she was discovered, when they kept the contents close to the subjects found. This may have been her phone, if I can only open it and access the chip."

"Oh, please let me time you! When was the last time you cracked open a piece of machinary?"

"I just thought if she had a picture or something to save from it then it would ease her a bit."

Diana sighed as she held her son close.

"Such a sentiment. Seriously though, marry her..."

"Mother!"

"...or at least tell her she's pretty. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Go."

Diana pressed the face of her watch and Thomas' fingers were fast to open the phone with his scalpel and plyers as he seperated bits and pieces under the lights. He placed all of the contents he needed on the ultrasound tray and accessed the menu, typing quickly as the pieces floated in the tray with secondary light surrounding each individual piece. A fresh screen with three sleeping boys popped up and a foreign whimsical chime filled the room as Thomas threw his arms in the air.

"Time!"

The watch beeped as Diana shook her head impressed.

"Well, I'm still impressed. I will never understand why you didn't stay in Mechanics, I guess I'll never know."

"Her."

Diana smiled as Thomas realized his mistake.

"Just stop talking before you make a fool of yourself again. Shall I ask your father for the ring? All your sister's have their own and it would look quite fetching on her finger."

Thomas stepped away from the computer and just ignored her.

"Did you check to see if she was still breathing? It would be a disappointment if she drowned after all of the hard work she's invested into herself."

Diana crossed the room out of Thomas' vision to clean up the examination table and readied the tray of implants as he knocked on the door.

"Evelyn?"

Nothing was heard. He knocked a bit louder, not to alert his mother. He heard a soft moan as he open the door a crack. Nothing could have stopped his mouth from watering as he saw Evelyn. Her head was rested on the side of the bath as she slept. The milky water moved as her almost bare chest heaved. Her right arm moved under the water as his imagination wondered to where her hand was. Her mouth opened for a sharp breath.

"Nick..."

Thomas closed the door as he straighten himself. He leaned against the frame as he pictured her again with her hand between her open legs as she moaned. Thomas had never felt so aroused in his life. Disappointment, jealousy and hurt sunk in when he heard another man's name pass her lips. What was wrong with him? He knew he had no right to feel these things towards her or to be possessive and he sure as hell didn't want to be like the other doctor that hurtfully claimed his subject to the point of intervention and imprisonment. His patients came first and that was what mattered.

"How is she?"

Thomas was caught off guard at his mother's voice as she poked her head around the other side of the curtain.

"She's, uh, she's sleeping."

"I can tell she found the Aroma Therapy menu."

They barely stepped from the door when they heard Evelyn screech at the top of her lungs in fear.

~

"You smell that?"

_"Oh, yes I can."_

His mouth sucks at me harder as I arch my back. I try to focus away from the buildling arousal as the smell of smoke grew closer. I look up seeing the fire detectors disappear from the walls. Nick pushes into me as my head falls back. He thrusts up as I bounce on his lap. I feel sensitive from the previous time, only minutes ago. I clutch at his back as my climax approaches fast. My eyes shut and I bury my face into his neck.

The burning smell is close enough now that it's at my nose. I lift myself away from Nicholi, I can't think so close to a release and was willing to sacrifice my orgasm to get us to safety.

"Nicki, something's wrong."

I moan as he rolls us to the mattress. His hips pound into me relentlessly as I claw the sheets. Nausea hits me as I take a breath. My eyes open as I feel Nick's flesh hot under my fingers. His temperature goes higher as I start to push him off. He leans up to look down at me. His flesh is blistered and blooding from the wounds but his hips don't stop. Smoke fills the room and the ceiling catches fire as blood covers his gums.

_"Not when it feels this right, baby."_

I wake up and shake from the shriek that escapes my throat. I tumble from the tub and hit a wall as scream as I wipe Nicholi's invisible blood from my wet body. The smoke was gone and all I could see was the white floor. I blink again as see Tom and Diana scramble for me. Tom wraps his lab coat around me. He reaches for his medical tools as they both check me.

"Evelyn, it was just a nightmare. Look at me."

"He was on fire and he was bleeding, Tom! Everything was on fire!"

"Who was?"

I look down to my hand and see blood. I scream again as my nails shake. It couldn't have been his. It was only a dream, just a fucking nightmare. Was this to be the rest of my life?

"Thomas, she scratched herself."

I look down to the top of my legs and see three visible scratch marks with blood running from the scratches. My screams stop but my tears continue to fall as I try to steady my breaths. Thomas bandages my leg as Diana holds my head away so I can't look. I shake in her arms like a helpless child.

"Good girl, Little Evelyn. He's all done now. Let's get you dressed, yeah? Thomas has a surprise for you with we work on your implants."

Thomas leaves to give us privacy. I try to dress but my hands shake wildly.

"Fucking tremors."

"Those will pass in time, dear."

I see the water around the room mixed with the blood from my leg. Diana braided my wet hair as the brown locks fell over my shoulder.

"Everything is going to be fine, Evelyn. Thomas is a great doctor and will see that you are cared for. I understand life is dark for you now, with things precious to you gone. I'm not your mother but if you need anything at all, help or a shoudler to cry on, you come to me, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She wipes away the last of the tears as she takes my hand to lead me away from the horror that I was determined to overcome.

"Did you enjoy the Aroma Therapy?"

"I did."

"You smell very refreshed."

I smile as I see Tom stand from his seat without warning, thinking I'd need his assistance. I limp forward to him and hand him his ruined lab coat.

"I never thanked you for saving my life."

"It's my job."

The wake-up, the walk outside and my nightmares. These things were taking a toll on the both of us. I wasn't sure of what to say but I had to do something before he spoke again. I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. I wasn't sure if he was taken back by me or the fact that his mother was watching but the moment I started to let go, he put his arms around me and pulled me close. I never had a knowing memory of anyone wanting me close to them. I pull myself higher in his grip and kiss his head as he let me go.

I back away and hop on my usual home at the examination table as Diana came to my side with a small gun and several thin things that looked like pills. She was hiding her smile horribly as she rolled the cloth from my shoulder.

"I hate pills."

"These aren't pills, they're implants. Two to strengthen you immunity system and help sharpen your senses to our environment. Within a few days, they will dissolve. One to counter the effects of the tremor and it'll give you a good amount of energy for the next few days. Another as a birth control, to help with your monthly cycle but we can do that tomorrow."

"Okay."

"That one will have to done surgically, should you decide you want a child then, there is another implant to counter it the term of time you wish to try."

"That sounds fun."

She swabs the back of my shoudler.

"Did Thomas tell you the news?"

"What news?"

Thomas sat back down with both of his hands on my knees.

"You are 100% fertile," he says grining.

"What?" I feel three stings simultaniously as the gun hisses against my skin. "Sonofabitch! Ahh." Diana presses a warm towel to my shoulder. "I'm sorry that wasn't meant to anyone."

"Evelyn, you really are something else. Thomas, show her your _other_ surprise."

"You'll have to sit on my lap for this one."

I try to read Tom as he gives a wink to his mother.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Okay, fine. How about a knee?"

"Mom? What's your ruling?"

"That choice is all yours."

"Okay, fine."

I roll the cloth back to my shoulder and sit slowly on his knee. His hand snakes around my waist as he rolls the chair across the room. A surprised giggle comes from me as I hold on to his shoulder. Something stops me as I look up to the screen. The color fades from my face onto the image from my phone as it shines in front of me.

"Ta-da!"

"What did you do?"

He points to the side of screen. My charred phone laid in pieces while the chips floated on a tray.

"Your phone was with you when you where found."

"What's it doing on your screen?"

"Technically it's my mother's screen but," he presses a small chip to the top of the desk as the area lights up, "I can save whatever you want from it to there. I can always look away if there's anything you don't want me to see."

"Please, what haven't you seem already? How do I save them?"

"Just drag your finger from the screen to the blue dot to save it or if you want to delete it..."

"Give it to the red?"

"Smart little thing, you are." I smirk as I go through every bit of messages, only saving from my mom and brother's. That's when I see the new message from Nick. My fingers hover over the screen. "What's wrong, darling?"

"This was from the last thing I remember that was normal before waking up. It popped up on the screen before it went black. I heard my mom call my name then that was it. Since it was a bomb, it obviously shorted from an EMP. Shit."

Thomas knew the rest of the story.

"Just tap the screen once."

My hand flies up ready to read his last words as they had taken him minutes to find. A blue screen lights up as the blue letters blind my vision.

 _No_.


	4. There is a reason Kate Nash was a song writer

_No_.

That was all he had to say, Nicholi rejected me, making me a statisic bootycall. Good job, girl and of course the fucking letters had to be fucking blue. Fuck...

"What's that?"

I look under the ominous letters and see the flashing exclaimation point. It was a voice attachment that went along with the text.

"Just a lameass excuse. Am I gonna hear it?"

Thomas taps the screen and nods his head. I tap the exclaimation point and hold my breath. It starts out as static, then I hear him clear his throat.

" _Hey Justine. It's Nicholi. Look, uh... shit. I'm not sure how to say this but I can't see you again. It's not you and it's not your fault. I haven't really been up front with you. I was going to tell you when I got down there but there was so much joy in your face when you saw me and then we got to the hotel and... I just didn't want to hurt you. Then, you kissed me and it broke my heart. I was lying when I told you I wasn't seeing anyone. I'm not gonna get into details but we found out yesterday that she's pregnant. I'm sorry I lied but you deserve much better then me. I just hope that one day, you can forgive me. Bye."_

My lungs worked fine as the message stopped. My hands were folded neatly in my lap. My eyes stared blankly ahead as I got up from Thomas' lap. I remember seeing Diana step forward to me. I can't hear what she said over my enraged yell. After a few moments of calming myself, I look down to my knuckle and see the blood start to drop from my hand. My gaze also went to a cabinet door with a bloody dent in the cracked wood. I hurry to the sink and clean my hand. Diana hands me a cup with a clear liquid as she wraps my hand.

"Is this some kind of syrup that'll knock me out for hours until I get over the numbness."

"No, silly. It's only water."

I swallow the whole cup in seconds and go into another coughing fit.

"I'm sorry about your door, I think I blacked out for a second."

"It's only a door."

"Thank you."

I go back to the screen and refuse to sit on Thomas' lap as I swiftly save and delete picture as if my very life depended on it.

"Tom, I have music on this. Can I save that too? It's about 2000 songs or so."

"Sure."

He opens my screen full of music and types quickly as the blue dot bings.

"Was that it?"

"Yes, now it's all saving internally. It will take a few minutes before it's ready."

I stand silently looking past the screen and the wall into nothing but my mind.

"If there's anything else anyone would like to tell me, I think now would be the time while I feel nothing."

In the past day, I had felt every possible emotion in the book and know it was refreshing to feel nothing.

"Evelyn, I think Thomas is hiding the fact that he favors you."

"I knew that from the moment he brought me here. Thomas, now is your only chance to tell me the truth, seeing as you are doing a piss poor job of being honest. You may be smarter than me but I can smell bullshit from a mile away."

I look and see him run his fingers through his hair.

"You weren't the second to wake. You were the third."

"The third."

"The second was another woman and she had a male doctor."

"Okay."

Thomas stops to try and find what to say. Diana places her hand on Thomas shoulder.

"Dear, the other Doctor that had his subject and was obsessed with her. He was a good doctor but he wasn't all right in his head. We all had our suspictions but we had no proof to take to the Medicial Board. It was only when she killed herself that they found out all of the things he was doing to her."

"How long along was this?"

"Five years ago," said Thomas as he cleared his throat. "Before he was caught, you were to be his next subject. If I hadn't stayed, there would have been a chance he'd do the same to you."

"Was that why Marren was looking at you like that in the office?"

"She looks like that to all of us."

I lean against the table as the screen bings again.

"I'm about as great with making good decisions as you are with telling the truth but I know you won't do anything to hurt me. You've had many chances to do that already and you've been smothering me medicially. God knows what will happen to your future wife." I reach forward and grab him lightly by the jaw, not caring if his mother was watching. "You are never going to lie to me again. I don't care if the truth puts me in a coma. You. Will. Tell me."

"I promise, Evelyn."

I let him go as he goes back to his keyboard. There was something about him I just couldn't put my finger on it but I was quickly growing accustomed to his calling me by my new name. He peeled the chip from the screen as everything went black. He put the chip in a small case and pressed his thumb on the top of the case until it flashed white.

"Give me your hand."

I hold it out to him as he presses my thumb to the case. It flashes white again as he swipes his thumb across where I touched it. A faint ding comes from the case as he attaches it to a chain and locks it around my neck.

"What did you do?"

"I've locked so only you or I can open it but I only needed to secure it."

"Cool. Can we leave before I do anymore damage to your mother's workspace?"

"Sure."

I hug Diana for everything she's done for me that day as she kisses the side of my head. We leave in silence and I follow Thomas as we head deeper into the connecting buildings. I take in what I can. In all my life, it didn't matter how many movies I saw or how many time I read The Time Machine, I wasn't ready for the Solar window shades or the moving floors. After a while, I forget to ask him where we are going. Through the ceiling, there are skyscrapers that go so high that I have stop to look up to the side of the building's.

"Fuck."

"I know, right."

I look down in time as Tom grabs my hand. I don't even care that our finger had intertwined, I pretend to be distracted when he fixes himself. The elevator up is swift and short. I follow him into a hall that was the only thing that looked normal for once. It was almost to the point that it looked like a hotel until he waved his hand over the door knob. It clicked and he turned the knob as he opened the door, letting me in first.

The decor was simple and clean. I liked all the near-white. He closes the door and races to what I think is the kitchen. I hear him open a small vent in the wall as I sit down, not sure of what to do.

"Your room is this way."

I pull myself to my feet and follow him down a narrow hallway. He opens the door on the right to a simple bedroom. It looked good enough but the twin sized bed was calling my name.

"Across the hall is the bathroom and down the hall is my room if you need anything. I need to leave but I'll be back in an hour or two. There is a fire extinguisher under the sink if anything happens."

"Okay."

"Did you need anything?"

I sit on the edge of the bed and shake my boots off. The mattress was hugging my thighs in a soft embrace.

"May I have another pillow?"

He smiles as he disappears into the hall, coming back a few seconds later, handing me a fluffy pillow, knowing I want to be alone.

"Do you want me to shut the door?"

"Yes please. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Evelyn."

"No, Tom. I mean... _Thank you_." He smiles tenderly.

"And I mean _you're welcome_."

The door shuts and I hear him move around for a few more minutes. Another door closes and footsteps grow quiet as I lay on the bed. My arms still envelope the pillow as my eyes wander to the calm daylight that shines off of the wall. I hear things like clicks and laughter from the other people on the floors. I shut my eyes and take a slow breath as I open them again. The light is still there. I hold the pillow tighter to me, wishing it was my mother. I was starting to miss her sorely.

I bury my face in the pillow to cry but nothing comes out. I was either too tired to cry or I used all of my alloted tears for my past life. I smile as I smell the pillow, something natural and musky. Thomas had given me one of his pillows from his own bed. That was nice of him.

I slowly open my eyes again, feeling sweat run down my face. I sit up with the pillow against my chest. A soft light hums over my bed and the sunlight is long gone. I pull the cord next to my bed and a light shines brightly across the room. I look down seeing myself under the covers and my sweater is gone, leaving my pants and tank. I don't remember undressing. The door was still closed and I didn't hear anything outside my walls. I check for the chip and find it still around my neck.

_Meow_

What...

_Mrroow_

...the hell was that?

I look around and lock my eyes to the tiny orange tabby at the end of my bed. Little brown eyes startle me as I slowly move from the bed. Tom didn't tell me he had a cat and I wasn't sure if he was home, so the best I could do was barricade myself in the living room until he got back. If this was the hallucinations he was talking about, then I was severly screwed. As soon as I shift from the bed, the cat follows after me playfully. I back into the door with a thud and shuffle into the hall, closing it behind me. Its small paw reaches under the door for me as I back away slowly into the living room.

"Hello, Darling." I jump at Tom as he steps back. "What's wrong?"

"You said to tell you if I started seeing things and-and I'm starting to see shit. Please don't lobotomize me."

"What did you see? Different things have certain meanings in your head."

"There was a little cat and it was at the end of my bed and it was starting at me with its little cat eyes."

He smiles as he opens my door and the small kitten runs out, stopping in front of me.

"Evelyn, meet Henry." He scoops up the kitten, kissing the top of its head. It turns to me and meows, reaching out e as I blindly accept him. I wince a little as his claws dig into me. "I opened the wall eariler but he wasn't there. I checked up on you but I didn't know he snuck in with me. He loves people and he loves to play."

"Yeah, I think he enjoyed giving me a heart attack."

Henry jumps from my arms and runs down the hall.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, please."

I sit at a counter and pull my chair close as Tom sets a full plate of food in front of me. He fixes the rest to his plate and sits across from me. I finish my food in no time, wishing there were more vegetables. I was already a borderline vegetarian but I wasn't ready to tell him no, and the meat, whatever it was, was to die for.

"You cooked all this?"

"I did. You thought everything came out of machines in the form of little protein tablets?"

"Yes. The future isn't really all I thought it would be."

The takes our dishes and cleans them by hand in his sink.

"I'm sure you thought there would be automatic flying cars and robots scattered everywhere."

"Are you mocking me Dr. Hiddleston?"

He chuckles as I follow him back into the living room. He stands next to a table, beckoning me. The soft lights bounce off the ceiling. I snap to attention when he grabs my chip.

"This is part of the surprise." He opens the case and feeds the chip into the side of the table. Tom takes my hand, leading me to the small screen. "Pick something."

"What do you normally listen to?"

"Nope. That's cheating."

He steps back as I try to think. My fingers absently fly over the buttons as a slow piano notes filled the room.

 

_I'm heavy handed to say the least_

_My mother thinks I'll be an awful clutcher_ _because I spill things from setrnum too quickly_

 

"What is this?"

"Shh, just listen. You always have to listen. Her songs change that fast."

The melody and tempo quickened as he leaned against the wall and listen to the song of Mariella, the little girl that wore dark clothes and was misunderstood, for having no friends and being rebelious to her mother and teacher.

 

_yeah she always got the crosswords puzzles right everyday_ _and she could do the alphabet backwards without making any mistakes_

_Mariella, Mariella you pretty, pretty girl_ _Mariella, Mariella happy in her own little world_

 

I took a breath as the song finished, feeling happy for the first time in a long while. As the next song starts, I look up seeing Thomas shake his hips to the beat. I laugh as he turns forward like he was going to the screen and takes my hand. I was surprised when he pulled me to the middle of the room and danced harder, not caring how he looked. He was so tall and I imagined sooner or later, he would fall over his large wooden legs. He moved his bare feet and arms like a mad man.

"You dance like a total dork!"

"At least I'm dancing, Darling. I believe in dancing! Dance with me, Evelyn!"

We clap with the end of the song as he takes me into his arms as the notes slow. We pant and laugh as we slow down. The renewed happiness was so strange but I didn't want it to end. Maybe this new life was something that I had deserved all along.

"So what do you normally listen to?"

"Classical sometimes when I need to focus." Nerd. "But other times I enjoy Elvis."

"Really?" I give a fake gasp. "Then this friendship will never work."

"Why not," he teased. He gives a fake gasp himself as he throws his arms up. "No, woman, no."

I scrunch up my nose and cross my arm as I step closer to him.

"That's right, Thomas. I'm a Beatles girl. Yes, it is true, Doctor. I fear this is something that can't be cured!"

"No!"

We laugh as he takes me into his arms and slowly spins me.

"Dispite our mutual differences, we will always have Kate Nash."

"Is this her?" I shake my head. "Such strange songs."

"That's why I like her."

The speakers go silent for a second until I hear the guitar fade in with a violin. Shit.

"What's the matter?"

"I hate this song."

We listen as _Nicest Thing_ pours from the speakers into my heart. All the smiles couldn't hide that I was used, tossed and rejected by a dead man. Thomas could tell when I stopped moving all together but he still moved, keeping me on my feet. He placed my hands around his neck as his arms hold me in place. His jaw rest on my head as I tilt my head on his shoulder.

"Evelyn?"

"Is it bad that I'm glad he burned?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"But I don't wish it on her. She probably never even knew."

"Try not to dwell."

"I know. It still hurt though."

I feel Tom kiss the top of my head. Kate was betraying me as her words echoed in my head. Maybe I could surprise him with the Elvis on my chip, mom always did enjoy The King. I lift my head too quickly and feel his lips press to the side of my mouth.

"I'm sorry it wasn't..."

He stops when I don't answer or flinch away. Still we move to the sad melody. I move my head carefully so I don't scare him. His head turns slowly too as I bite my lip. He was probably thinking he was going to turn into that fucked up doctor but I wanted him... My hand drops to his shoulder as my heart is practically bursting from my chest. His lips ghost mine as he bends forward. I lean forward connecting his lips to mine.

We both start to shake as he kisses me back. His hand hold my neck while the other stays at my hips. My bandaged hand pulls him closer as we break the kiss for a second. Our breathing picks up as he walks me into a wall. I wanted him as he kissed me deeper, moaning into my lips. I try not to think how happy how his mother would be or how mine would be happy I was with a doctor.

At the back of my mind, that ginger headed bastard faded. At once, I forgot his name, his face or even the reason why he was such a bastard. I only focus on Tom. His hands holding me close, sending chills up my spine as his hand disappeared in the back of my shirt. His lips tracing the side of my neck as my fingers twine into his hair. My panting shakes me and the beautiful soft shrieks of the violins wake me up as snake my way under his arms and run to the hall. I forget which door was mine as the bathroom lights up like Christmas.

"Wrong door..."

I see Thomas out of the corner of my eye as I slam the door to my room. I grab a pillow and turn around as he opens it.

"Evelyn, I'm sorry I don't know what came over me."

"Did you mean it?"

"I'm sorr..."

"Did you mean it, Thomas?!"

"Yes."

"Then stop apologizing like it was a mistake. I'm not sorry."

I shove the pillow into his chest hard enough to send them both into the hallway. I don't wait to hear if he opened the door as I grab my blanket and wrap myself completely, holding the pillow to my head. That's when I smell him on the pillow. Damn. I gave him the wrong one. I didn't want to face him again.

_Knock, knock._

"Evelyn."

"Fuck off, Tom."

Henry leaps onto the bed and curls up into a ball in front of me as his eyes shoot to the door then to me.

"What?" He gives a small meow as he looks to the door again. "He started it. Don't make me throw you out too."

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to think about how I was aching for Tom to touch me again. It was going to be hard to look him in his pale blue eyes. I focus on Henry's puffy fur as he cuddles closer to me. I wanted Thomas so much that it started to hurt. I didn't care how as long as his arms were around me...


	5. Just the start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was my first submission to SSS:Back to the future

"Evelyn?"

Shit.

 _Meow_. Henry scratches at the door as it opens.

"Trailor." _Knock, knock._ "I said fuck off, Tom."

"Good thing, he's not here."

I turn from the wall seeing Diana with Mrs. Marren's bodyguard. 

"Where is he?"

"He's helping prep for you now." The implant. That was today. "You can change when we get there. Dom is gonna shuttle us there so we can get there quicker."

"Okay."

Dom gives a smile but...

"Let's go, dear. So you can rest again."

We head to the elevator as Diana holds my hand. The car barrels down the shaft to the ground floor without slowing down. It disappears into the floor as it opens to an empty metal hallway. Dom holds his hand out to help me into the small shuttle. Diana shuts her door to strap herself in. She reviews a few things on her tablet as Dom guides the shuttle down the hall. He keeps his eyes on the rearview mirror, looking to me the entire time.

The shuttle shakes as it passes through a clear window and flies outside. I clutch my seat when I look down.

"Scared of heights?"

Dom smiles as I look up.

"Yes, very much."

He snickers in pity as we pass through another mirror to another building. The shuttle comes to a stop as the doors hiss.

"Here!"

Diana lets herself out as she grabs a bag. Dom unbuckles me and lifts me out of the shuttle with ease. We enter a small elevator as the door slowly close. Dom and Diana swipe their bagdes as the elevator moves. We walk into the familiar pink hallway as I look back to the elevator doors. I had missed them before when I was here with Tom.

Diana leads me behind a curtain in her office as she helps me dress for the operation. She sees the worried look on my face.

"We kissed last night," I whisper. 

I'm not sure why I told her but it was definately something I wanted to tell my mother. She only cups the side of my face and smiles.

"My dear, this is something you shouldn't fret about. It's not like I'm going to shoot you. The both of you are grown enough to make your own decisions."

I step up from behind the curtain and lay on my side as instructed. The examination table is colder and lower to the ground than I remember. Diana told me I wouldn't really feel the cut but I would feel the implant and it would start to feel like it was burning once it was in. I had the choice of the back which was the quickest and the painful to heal but the hip would take more time and be the easiest to heal. I chose the hip.

Diana smoothed my hair back as Dom watched from the other side of the glass. He was being preped as well.

"Don't worry, Dear. He's only here to observe and let Mrs. Marren know of your progress."

"Where's Tom?"

Someone knelt down beside me. They lift my head gently, placing a soft pillow under my head. I look over the mask into Tom's blue eyes.

"Hello, Darling."

"Hey hey, Doctor."

A medicial blanket is tucked tightly under my legs. Thomas snakes a tube under my nose and instantly I feel everything soften. He brings a chair up to sit in as Diana looks over to Thomas.

"We're going to start now. Evelyn, try to relax and hold on to Thomas' hand. I'm going to inject you with something to numb your hip and then we will begin."

I shake my head as Tom takes my hand. His thumb brushes over my knuckles as I focus on him.

"I told your mother about last night."

"Which part," he whispers.

"The kiss. Are you mad?"

"It's okay, I'm sure she won't let me live this down. I can only imagine what she'll tell the rest of the family. What do you think about a spring wedding," he teased.

I laughing silently and see iodine covered on my hip. A medicial sheet with a hole is placed on the iodine patch. I take a deep breath as she sticks me with a needle five times. After a few minutes, I tell her I don't feel anything. Dom arrives in a smock and helps with placing a brace between my knees to hold my hips steady. My mind slips for a moment, feeling his finger purposely run slowly across my knee.

No. That was just the medicine. I can feel something wet run down the front of my leg as I look at Tom and I can tell he's smiling. Yeah, mom would have loved him. A warm feeling rushes into my hip bone as Diana presses me down to the table. A few whimpers escape me as the warmth grows hotter but not scorching. Tom faces me to him as I start to lose consciousness. The feeling was painful enough. I hold on to Tom's hand as tight as I can.

"Please don't leave me..."

~

The room feels cold as my body jumps on its own. I'm on my side and the blanket is pulled around me. The curtain is drawn around my bed. A low hum is heard somewhere but my ears feel like they are stuffed with cotton. I can hear voices.

"I have business to attend to and I'm sure Thomas can stay."

"I'm supposed to report Evelyn's recovery to Marren. Who's to say what he'll do once we've gone."

"Excuse you but wasn't it your brother..."

"You keep his pathetic name out of this!"

"You stay away from her. I saw how you were looking at her like a piece of meat."

"Look here, cunt! You are _really_ one to talk."

"Excuse you, young man. It was your mother and I that delivered you into this world. Don't think I won't put you back so far that Marren won't be able to find you. Now, with the systems down, I need someone of a security ranking to escort me to the NICU and Evelyn is Thomas' subject. Let him do his job."

"Fine," huffs Dom as he stomped away.

The doors slide closed slower that I remember as someone pulls at them. I hear Tom sigh as I walk from the bed and pull the curtain. I see him look through the glass down the hall as if he's waiting for someone with his arms crossed.

"Cunt."

"Thank you."

He turns in surprise as I sit in his chair. I find that my side is sensitive and in pain as he helps me up. He sits in the chair as I sit on the examination table, smoothing out my hospital gown. He leans back the same way he did the first day I saw him in his chair.

"So I wasn't the only one that noticed about him?"

"I guess not. I saw you look at him while you were almost under."

"Was that the other Doctor's brother?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

I roll off of my side as my hip stings. Tom uncaps a small jar and rolls forward in his chair.

"You seem very appealing, Darling. Come here. This will help with the pain."

He dips his fingers into the cream and slowly peels the bandage away as I grimace. He runs the cream over the clear, healing cut, circling around my naked hip before replacing the bandage with another. His hand lingers on my legs as he puts a small amount of distance between us.

"If you want, you can choose another physician."

"No. What if I want you?"

He smiles as I look around the darkened, quiet room.

"The systems are down. Mother had to run to the NICU to check on the newborns with Dom."

"I heard."

"Yes, comms, screens and cameras are down."

He points up to the corner of the room. The camera was pointed down and showed no movement or sound.

"That is unfortunate."

"Unfortunate indeed," he purrs as his fingertips trace the outsides of my knees.

All I can do is smile and let his hands go further in the way that I wanted them to.

"The glass is still see through."

Thomas sits up as I move from the table to him. He pulls the curtain so the glass is blocked out from our vision. I stand in front of him as I pull his glasses from his face.

"Do you trust me?"

"Have you given me a reason not to?"

"I saw you yesterday as you were touching yourself. You looked so peaceful." He pulls at the strings to open the front of the gown. "I only wished it was my name that came from your lips."

"What stopping you, now?"

"I don't want..."

I pull his lips up to mine to silence his fear of becoming a monster. He is still so hesitant as his hands refuse to go further. My knees start to weak as he places me on his lap. I move so my back rests on his chest. I fully open the gown as it slides from my shoulders. I pull my hair away from my shoulder as I feel his breath warm the back of my neck.

"I think, Doctor, that I've given more than enough signs," I whisper, bringing up his hand to my breast as I moan, "I'm not sure of what else to give you, Thomas."

His fingers form around the curve of my breast as I lean back into him. His lips leave a hot trail of kisses as they go up my neck and to my ear.

"All I want is you, Evelyn," he moans hushed.

In less than a second, he places my knees over his legs, spreading me wide as his arm holds me by the waist. My breath shakes as his arm is the only thing keeping me from falling. He reclines his chair as the back rests on the examination table. He pulls me back, pulling my hair back gently as he moans into my skin.

"Please, Tom..."

"If I start, I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop."

My hand finds the bulge hidden in his pants. I shudder at the size of him as he moans from my touch.

"I just don't want anyone walking in."

"The doors are not automatic with the power out. No one's coming in unless I want them to. Tell me what to do, Evelyn."

"I'm feeling a bit fevered Doctor. Would you mind examining me?"

He chuckles as his hands run under my arms, cupping both breasts in his hands. His fingers spread as the fresh of my breasts fill his palms. Tom rubbed his thumbs over my nipples, only to harden them.

"Your flesh does seem a bit fevered and," his fingers roll my harden flesh until they are petrified, rosy nubs begging for more as I whimper, " _so tense_."

A warmth rolls throughout my hips and I know it's not the implant.

"I want more, Thomas."

His lips suck at the back of my neck until they stop at the crook of my collarbone. He latches on, sucking lightly at my skin. His hand snakes down slowly between my thighs. I gasp at the touch of his fingers to my core.

"God, Evelyn. You're so wet, Darling."

He soft demeanor grew lustful as my hips bucked into his hand.

"How would you remedy this, Doctor Hiddleston?"

"Well, Ms. Warnick," his fingers dip into my folds, drag up slowly until the tips of his fingers stroll around my clit, "I can always apply some pressure here to relieve your tension."

"Yes," I whine as my hands hold the arm rests of the chair while I grind myself on his lap. A coil of heat winds tighter in my stomach as I moan his name. He growls as he rubs my clit faster, biting softly into my shoulder as I cry out.

Loud static gets our attention as the room lights up with machinery whirring up.

 

" _Attention Delta Colony, power is restored. Thank you for your patience and have a wonderful day._ "

 

"Tom, the cameras!" We hear small gears across the room as Tom sweeps me into his arms and carries me behind the curtain. "What about the doors?"

"I guess nothing is stopping them from staying closed."

I bite my lip with a smirk as he bends over my open legs.

"Then I guess there isn't that much time to waste then, is there?"

"Not when my patient isn't properly cared for."

His pulls my hips to the side of the bed and pushes my legs open, carefully not to touch the bandage. He hovers over me again, staring down to me as I clutch his shirt, ready to shread it to pieces.

"With the implant in you, you have to about three days before intercourse for it to fully work."

"Are you still playing _Doctor_ or are you being serious?"

"Both, Dear," he moans into my neck as he grinds himself against my core. My body wants more of him as his large hands move to my breasts again, kneeding them firmly. His tongue playfully flicks across the tips of both peaks, moving past my belly to the top of my mound. "But it's nothing a secondary appendage couldn't fix," he says with a wink.

"Tom, I don... ah!"

His tongue sweeps up my slit, all the way up to my swollew clit as he moans. The vibrations of his voice sends a delicious chill up my back. His fingers open me wider as his pushes deep inside me. I can feel myself so close as he swirls his tongue, wildly licking at what is there. My hand grabs onto his golden curls as he pushes his nose against my clit.

"Thomas," I pant.

He pushes a finger into my folds, quickly adding another as his fingers pump me mercilessly. His mouth drives my eyes into the back of my head as his lips and tongue run hungrily rampid on my clit. My voice turns into a scream and my back arches from the bed as I tremble from my climax. Tom licks up what he can as he pulls me up.

"Evelyn, I'm not sure I can hold out for three days," he pants into my hair. My hand slowly reaches down his pants as a chime fills the room.

"Fuck," I curse softly.

He closes his hand around mine and thrusts his hips up as he hisses through his teeth.

"This is what you do to me..."

"Thomas?"

He brings his finger to his lips to silence me. I fix his clothes and straighten his glasses as he steps from behind the curtain.

"Shh, shh. She's still sleeping."

"I have her vitals and her heart rate just went through the roof!"

"She had another nightmare but she woke up in time. She's better now."

I listen closely as I pull my gown together, hearing Diana on the screen. I pull the blanket back up as I lay back down the metal creaks underneath me and I clench my teeth, hoping she'll shrug it off. She laughs as Thomas clears his throat.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Just be sure to leave my lab how I left it and clean up after yourselves."

"Mother!"

"I don't want to find any surprises and remember that the door has a lock. Goodbye, Evelyn!"

"Goodbye Diana!"

I can hear the flush of Thomas skin as he groans into his hands.

"Just keep watching over her like you have. I've finished here in the NICU and an moving on to the nursery. I'm dropping of her vitals transfer to your office and I'll be there in a few hours."

"Goodbye mother."

"Goodbye, Thomas! I love you!"

As soon as I heard silence, I craned my neck up.

"Thomas," I giggle. "Are you okay?"

I was glad that Diana was okay with what was happening between Tom and me. My smile disappeared as I realized I didn't know what was happening. I sit up, hearing his footsteps thunder on the floor. He was angry with the fact that his mother and I were teasing him again. He slammed the door as I jumped from the bang. I move from the bed and listen into the bathroom, hearing nothing.

"Thomas, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tease you like that."

Still no answer from the other side. I turn the knob slowly and push at the metal. I heard his voice in a grumble, probably frustrated from us. I peak my head in and let out a soft moan. I see Thomas against the far shower wall as water falls on his head. Trails of water slowly trickle down his naked back and down his legs. I push the door open the rest of the way and watch as one of his hands brace the wall. I smile when I see his other arm tense up.

I slide the gown off, leaving the door widely ajar as I stop behind him. His voice draws me up to him as my hands rest on the small of his back. His fingers are curled around his cock as I run my nails softly down his back.

"Evelyn,"he moans as he stops.

He pushes himself away as I move under him. The water slowly falls from his head into my hair as he licks his lips. I shiver under the warm water as I reach up touching the lean muscles of his chest and torso. Such treasure hidden by a lab coat. I bite my lips as I arch into him.

"Do you aquire some assistance, Dr. Hiddleston?"

"In a way, you are, my Dear. I feel things with you, Evelyn, that I've never felt with anyone else before. I feel like I'm going to burst whenever I think about you."

His fingers roll my wet nipple as my voice buckles. My eyes wonder down between his legs as he grips his cock tightly, moaning inches away from my lips. I felt the same way and I didn't care anymore if it was happening too quickly.

"I don't think I can least the three days either."

He pulls me from the wall roughly as I gasp. His erection rest flat at my stomach. He lays me on the tiled floor as his tongue ravages my neck. He lifts himself up for a moment and presses his cock against my clit, so close but still so far. The sensation grows as it lays flat between us. He pushes his hips up ever so slightly as I moan loud enough to echo off the bathroom walls. Three more days...

"If we can't last, then this is how it will have to be until day four."

His lips crash passionately to mine as he pushes harder, my nails sink into his shoulder. Water bounces off his back, showering my neck and chest. His tongue catches the water, drinking it up from my skin. My legs lock around his thighs as the friction brings me to the edge. His lips take mine as I feel a second wetness coat my belly. He continues thrusting his hips until I came and cry out his name. My head rolls back into the floor as he grunts into my ear. The feral bliss of his voice makes me dizzy. My eyes wonder into the room as I see a bit of movement by the supply cabinet. My mind was playing tricks on me again as I proped myself up on my elbows.

He lifts me from the floor and taps the wall to stop the water. He carries me to the bed as he wraps a fresh gown around my shoulders. He pulls on a fresh set of clothes and types as he stands at the desk. Things around the outside of the curtain light up and whir as Tom comes back to the bed.

"What the hell is that?"

"Sanitation mode. The room is cleaning itself. I really don't want my mother to know anything further of what she already knows."

I smile as I scoot over to make room for him. He is hestitant at first but slowly climbs under the sheets with me. I turn as I rest my head on his shoulder. His wet hair curls under my touch as he caresses my face.

"We may have to take this slower, Darling."

"Where would the fun in that be? I don't care what they're going to think, especially Marren. We both are doing this of our free will."

"You're just like my mother."

He reaches into his draped lab coat and pulls my necklace from his pocket. The strands chain around my neck, I close my eyes as he pulls the sheet up. The beeping eases me into a daze as I move closer to Tom.

~

_Tap. Tap._

Tom was asleep with his arm around me as I moved off of the bed. The floor was cold as I poked my head from the curtain.

"Hello?" There was no answer as I started forward towards the front of the room. "Diana?"

I looked around the edge of the desk seeing no one at the glass doors. I tap the screen next to the doors to lower the lights, leaning the controls quickly. A small creak makes me jump as I turn to the supply cabinet. The second door had been replaced from when I destroyed it yesterday.

"Stop it," I tell myself.

I bring the lapels of my gown closer, feeling the hairs stand on the back of my neck. I hear Tom stir as I make my way back. I hear the creak again but am unable to turn around. A large hand covers my mouth and pulls me back.

"Good evening, Ms. Justine." Dom's mouth hovered at my ear as he licked my earlobe. I try to fight away from him, but his large hand pulls my head to the side as a needle pierces the skin of my neck. My eyes start to fog as my limbs go weak. I can still see Thomas in a peaceful sleep in my bed. "Don't worry, Lovely. I'll take good care of you..."


	6. Torn

 

“Evelyn?”

The sounds of the lab were silent as Tom stretched out on the bed. The empty space next to him was bothersome as he looked around for Evelyn. He poked his head from the curtain as a smell of smoke filled the lab. He rushed to his feet, calling out for Evelyn as he turned the corner and saw Dom sealing the glass doors shut.

“Evening, Cunt!”

“Dom? What the hell are you doing?”

“Keeping you put so that we may have a little chat.”

“Evelyn?”

“She’s not here.”

Tom ignored him as he ran off back into the lab in search of her. He checked every place possible and stormed the bathroom, seeing nothing as he looked back to the glass doors to the smug bodyguard.

“Where is she?”

“I told you she’s not here. Don’t you fucking listen?”

“Marren will know what you did.”

“Marren is busy keeping the colony under order while I requested time away. Some time with my lovely Justine.”

“ _Evelyn_ is still under observation; you can’t take her out of the building.”

“Oh, can’t I?”

Dom held up his meaty hand as a high level badge swung from his fingers. Tom’s eyes widened as he saw the picture of his mother from years ago. His senses slowly started to fade as Dom laughed. Tom could hear the last thing his mother said.

_"Goodbye, Thomas! I love you!"_

“What did you do?”

“Nothing that she didn’t do to herself or at least that’s what everyone will think when they find your dear old mummy.”

“What did you fucking do?!”

Thomas pounded his fists on the glass, making a single crack as he stopped for breath.

“Forget it cunt, it’ll all be over soon. Why would you keep a lovely woman like that all to yourself? I saw the results of Justine’s test. It’s not every day that a woman is 1oo% fertile. I bet she tastes real good.”

Tom turned red as he pounded at the glass again with tears streaming down his face.

“You won’t get away with this!”

“Oh, by all means, Doctor. I tend to make a wonderful life for me and my new bride.”

Dom opened his other hand to reveal a small silver ring with a tiny purple gem in the middle. Tom remembered how it looked on his mother’s finger even years after his parents separated. He had no more hope for the first woman he ever loved and Evelyn was nearly out of his reach. Tom sank to his knees, no longer able to fight as Dom crouched to his level.

“Just imagine how beautiful Justine will look with a rounded belly, with _my_ child inside of her. That’s all a woman ever wants to be. We’ll have the fairest looking family this side of the colonies, just not Delta.”

Tom shook as he looked up to the monster dressed in the colonies armor.

“I will fucking kill you,” he panted as he clenched his fists.

“Well, not if I kill you first.”

Dom got to his feet and hummed to himself as he pressed several buttons on the pad. The first combination sent the lab into total darkness with the hallway being the only source of light, dimly lighting the front of the lab. The cameras went down as well as Tom tried to think. He knew his mother was already gone and that Dom was willing to do whatever it took possible to be with Evelyn. He looked to the creak he had made in the glass, a little more work and he could break down part of the glass.

Dom finished the second set of combinations as gears were heard in the ceiling. Tom forced himself to his feet as he moved back to the middle of the room to be ready for anything.

“Ta, Cunt! I’ll be sure to take good care of Justine while you’re gone!”

Dom backed away from the glass as light slowly filled the room behind Tom. The body guard turned as Tom was greeted with the afternoon light of the outside world without the barrier to keep the air out.

-

“ _Justine_?”

She could hear her mother’s hard footsteps thunder down the steps in the attic. She tried to claw out of the Christmas boxes to her mother but it was not use. She was stuck in one place, living second to second the events that burned into the back of her mind. There was a moment of silence as her mother disappeared from sight.

That’s when she could feel it.

The ground, the house shook, leaving tremors to her skin. She could feel the rumble of the blast rolling throughout the neighborhood as it took out all of the schools, the baseball fields of Pop Warner players as they screamed. Her brothers were out on one of those fields, pitching in for perk hours at their high school. They would have been doing honest work in their last minutes.

Main street was hidden but they would die slow from the fires. It would have been an inferno because of the propane tank out back.

Then her house burned along with everyone left. How could she still be alive? She pondered as the flames appeared and danced on the dry attic wood.

“Tom?!”

It was all a dream. She was still in bed with Tom, Dom was never there and it was all a dream.

“Evelyn…”

She turned in her hiding spot to Tom as her blood ran cold. He knelt down to her smiling as his charred hand reached out to her. He wasn’t screaming in pain or trying to put out the flames on his skin. Evelyn screamed enough to shake herself awake.

She felt arms tighten around her as she tried to steady her breathing. Her eyes shot around the room to the bright blue wall that stung her eyes. She knew at once that the arms holding her weren’t Tom’s.

“Hold on now.”

The sound of Marren’s bodyguard shut her down as she planted both feet into the floor and pried his arms apart. She was only able to turn in his arms before she was stuck with another needle.

“Fuck…”

It wasn’t as strong as the last one but she knew she could no longer fight as Dom caught her in his large arms.

“Now, now, Justine. I got ya!”

He lifted her and carried her across the room to a waiting wheel chair where he set her down gently and bound her limbs down. Evelyn looked around the room seeing it furnished to a fault. It almost looked like a loft she shared before she moved back in with her family. There was a kitchen area, a few couches here and there, dressers and two beds that were pushed together. She looked down seeing the hospital gown was gone and a fresh itchy set of clothes took its place.

She could feel Tom’s fear for her as she filled her lungs with air.

“Tom!”

“Stop it.”

“Thomas!”

“I said STOP IT!!”

She didn’t realize how close Dom was as he was nearly spitting in her face.

“I-I’m sorry,” he waved off as he wiped off her face with his sleeve.

Evelyn tried to back away but couldn’t as she was bound in place.

“Now, we’ve never been properly introduced, Justine. I am Dom Avert. I work… more like worked for Ms. Marren for years. You’ll have to forgive me but you are just too stunning for words.”

Dom grabbed a chair and beamed as he sat across from Evelyn as if he didn’t just kidnap her or tied her down. He leaned to the table behind him and picked up a brush. He smiled gingerly as he being to brush the hair from Evelyn’s shoulder.

“I know this is a lot but it not every day that we meet a woman like you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I only want to make you happy.”

His touch made her skin crawl as she pulled at her bonds.

“Now, Justine. Stop it now. You’re making a fuss.”

“I fucking want Tom, you asshole.”

She jumped as the brush hit the wall and smashed to pieces.

“He’s gone!”

The words took the breath from her chest as Dom hunched over to breathe down her neck.

“Tom isn’t coming for you. I’ve adored you since the minute I laid eyes on you. Don’t you see that I can provide more than he ever could. I’m a king here.”

“Marren is going to know that I’m gone and that you’ve hurt him.”

Dom chuckled as he walked to the brush and picked up the pieces to throw them away.

“Darling, in a few hours, someone will find his body with a suicide note just like his mummy’s body. They were poisonous, you see. They kept telling me I was going to be like my brother but he was a bit off his rocker and not so smart if I do say so myself.”

“You’re no better than he is…”

She kept her eyes forward as Dom sighed.

“I think you need some time alone to think about the situation at hand. He’s gone and I’m the only one that will truly now you here. Everything, everyone outside these doors will rip you to pieces if you try to escape. We’re not exactly in the Delta colony anymore.”

She heard Dom turn on his heel and walk away as he slammed the door behind him. Evelyn listened to the symphony of locks slam together as her fingers curled on the rests of the chair. She wanted so badly to thrash and try to get free but she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She had no idea where she was and the air outside could kill her if she didn’t have a mask.

From what he made it sound was that they were no longer in the Delta colony anymore. That was when everything hit her. Diana was dead. Tom was dead. Dom was never going to let her go.

No.

It all had to still be a dream. She sealed her teary eyes shut as she looked up through the blur of tears to Tom with his hair still wet from the shower as he chained the chip to her neck before she fell asleep. Evelyn fell weak against her chair as she stopped hyperventilating and passed out.

-

Thomas steadied his breath as long as he could. Somehow the air was taking effect on him even though he tightened the straps of the mask around his face painfully. He found the cabinet of his mother’s birthing supplies including the extra tanks of oxygen used to ease the females through their deliveries. He had nothing left that was durable enough to break the window. Pieces of Lab furniture covered the floor as Tom kicked everything away. He had used everything in the lab to only move the creak an inch. He couldn’t understand how his fists could make a crack but the rest of the colony’s equipment could barely do any better.

He felt light-headed as he looked to the needle on this oxygen tank reach zero. He was quick to reattach the mask to his face and give himself some relief. He looked over his shoulder to the window, completely open to the dangerous climate outside. There were two tanks left and then he would be dead but there had to be someone that found something. There was no power to the Ovan’s lab and sooner or later someone would come looking for him.

His mother filled his ears.

_“Just keep caring for her like you already have.”_

“I will…”

He gripped the handles of the heavy oxygen tank and swung it up as it hit the glass with the thud. The glass shifted a bit on its gears but it was a start he swung and swung until his arms gave out. When he got out, if he got out at all, he would go to Marren and get Evelyn back, perhaps even kill Dom but he only focused as the tank slipped from his fingers to the floor as he stopped to take a break.

He looked down seeing the needle had gone down a little since he started. At this rate, he would never get out. He would never see Evelyn again and tell her what his mother already knew. She had survived out of everyone on the planet. She had made it through decades of sleep and found her way to him. He wasn’t ready to give up now.

He got back up to his feet and held the handles firmly as he swung away at the glass. The beautiful sounds of the whining, growing creak was enough to make him cry. He stopped, completely light-headed as a few people rushed to the glass. He couldn’t make them out at first but he got his bearings and made out the shapes of his sister Emma and her husband. There were fresh tears in her eyes as she looked into the lab.

He could tell that they already found Diana.

“Tom, we can’t do anything about the power. None of us can open the panel. We’re trying to find an engineer.”

“Emma, Dom took Evelyn. He killed mother.”

Emma broke down as her husband, James ran his fingers through his hair.

“Tom, right now the only way to get you out is to break the glass. The pressure will lock down this floor but you’ll be safe again.”

He set a toolbox on the ground and picked out a chisel and a hammer.

“What are you doing? The air will kill you.”

“Not if it kills you first. Stop messing around and get to work, Tommy.”

Tom nodded as he wasted no time in smashing at the glass. In front of him, he saw Dom. He saw the way Dom looked at her when he placed the brace between her knee. Dom probably had her locked away somewhere, filling her head with lies as he tried forcing himself on her. The only thing saving her was the fact that he was as smitten with her as his brother was with his test subject. He also, remembered the implant in her hip. Tom wasn’t sure if Dom had the resources or knowledge to take the implant out without making her bleed to death.

The glass began to creak more to his liking as he imagined Dom’s lifeless body in front of him. Tom didn’t hear Emma or James screaming for him to stop as the glass cracked more while they backed up and reached for James’ masks. Tom used both hands to swing the edge of the bent tank to crack the glass panel in front of him from edge to edge.

He felt dizzy as he swung up one last time, remembering Evelyn’s face as she danced slowly so close to him, touching his lips to hers. Emma and James backed away from the glass as the oxygen tank shattered it, sending a gust of wind throughout the whole floor of the Ovan’s wing. Tom was freezing in seconds as the sweat on his skin and in his clothes chilled painfully.

A loud blaring alarm was held as the heavy metal shield covering slammed down on the window, finally protecting the lab. The vents overhead filled the hall with breathable air as Emma and James rushed to his side. She pulled a penlight from her lab coat and tore away the mask from his face.

“He’s dehydrated and he’s stressed himself out. He’s not crashing but he has nothing left. I don’t know how he’s still standing. Help me get him up!”

James helped drag Tom over the glass and broken equipment as they laid him on the hospital bed. The backup power kicked in as a flashing light appeared from the ceiling. James typed as fast as he could on the keyboard for help as Tom slowly drifted to sleep.

-

Evelyn never remembered having such a bad headache as the slam of the door made her wake. Fresh tears ran from her eyes as the smell of fresh food filled her nose. Dom smiled over his shoulder to her as he set the food down to a lovely place setting. She rolled her eyes at the attempt of his gestures. Even if he never did take her away, she would never pick him over Tom.

Dom wheeled her to the table and left go her of restraints. He finished brushing her hair and wiped her face as he returned to the seat across from Evelyn. She tried to lift her arms but they felt like putty.

“Please,” Dom gestured to her plate, “Eat something. You probably haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

It had to be some kind of meat with odd looking sides, maybe it was mashed potatoes. She formed her fingers to the fork provided to her as she slowly brought the food to her lips. The food was bland and made her want to gag as she dropped the fork to the plate.

“You need your strength for after dinner, Justine. You’ll only stress out your body if you don’t eat.”

Her mind raced with whatever she was guessing he had planned for her. Justine looked up to Dom and flung her plate to the ground.

“I’m not staying here.”

“This is your home now so I suggest you get used to it.”

Evelyn had enough strength to grab her water and toss it in his face.

“I suggest you drop dead.”

Dom’s blond hair fell to the sides of his face as he licked his wet lips and wiped his face dry.

“You should know that there is no highway option.”

In an instant, Dom grabbed the table from underneath and turned it over as Evelyn screamed in shock. He reached forward and grabbed her by her hair as he pulled her across the room to the beds. With the shove of his boot, the beds slammed together and hit the walls as he hurled Evelyn to the bed.

She tried to scramble for safety but not before she was turned to her side and pinned to the bed. She flailed and screamed for help as Dom tied her hands behind her back. Evelyn pleaded with him as he reached in one of many bags of supplies that were piled on the floor for a metal curved surface that was tossed to the bed.

“You know, Justine. I don’t know why you have to make things harder. We were supposed to make things slow but we may as well get things out of the way. You are right, this will clear things up.”

He ran a scalpel over Evelyn’s thigh as she wailed in pain. Dom covered her mouth as she bled to the bed. He pressed the curved metal to her hip as she tried to fight him off. He pressed a button that made the metal form painfully to her skin.

“This is going to be your home now.”

Another button made the machine hum under his hand.

“You will not be Evelyn anymore.”

The button next to it made it hum louder.

“You are going to be my wife and we will have a beautiful family together even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming the whole way but I would honestly rather have you comply and just love me.”

“No,” she screamed into his palm.

“You say that now but, who knows, in time you may grow to love me.”

He pressed the red button at the top that sent a wave of pain throughout Evelyn’s body. Her side throbbed with pain as she could feel the implant work its way back up the incision to the surface of her skin. She dry heaved into Dom’s hand as they heard the sure clink of the implant to the metal.

“There we go. That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

He pulled his hand away and turned off the machine as he wiped off the blood from the metal. He reached back into his bag for the instant stitches while Evelyn whimpered in pain as she touched the blood on her tight. The force of the magnet ripped the implant straight through the side of her pants as she felt the stain grow.

Dom pulled the fabric away and pressed the large bandage to her leg.

“Brace yourself, the sterile process is really going to hurt.”

The bandage quickly formed to her skin as a harsh sting traveled up and down her leg. The pain was excruciating as the world slowly started to slip from her vision. She could feel Dom peel the pants from her legs as she tried to beg him not to touch her.

“Hush now, Justine. Your body was just put through great stress. You need to heal first. Try to sleep.”

Her head hit the pillow as a thick blanket was tucked around her. This was no longer a dream, she was awake and she faded from the bitter reality of her newer future as her eyes sank shut…


	7. Numb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution for apocalyptic situations and some non-con

Evelyn looked down to her eggs. They were beautiful and fluffy. She was sure the minute they hit her stomach, she would get sick and it would anger Dom. She used her shaky hand to grab the fork to shovel the food down her throat. She flinched as Dom appeared with more food and kissed her on the side of the brow.

“Why do you always jump,” he laughed.

Evelyn glared at him, disgusted at him as she swallowed.

Please let me throw up again…

It was a whole day or so she thought since she was brought to her room, to where Dom was keeping her. There were too many things running through her head to focus on Dom taking her hand into his as he rubbed his thumb to her knuckle.

“Perhaps we can walk about later.”

“You said I would die if I went outside this room.”

“The rest of this floor is clear. I had some help from the druggies to fix up this space. It’s not much but they’ll do anything for another hit. I know it’s too soon but I want to choose a color for the rooms that’ll belong to the kids.”

“I’m not giving you shit.”

Evelyn got up from the table and sat by herself on the single seated couch near the wall as Dom ignored her.

“You need to get over that muck and look forward to a bright future. There is always time to grieve later.”

“I think you need to get over my foot in your ass.”

“I was thinking how back before everything happened how boys were color coated as blue and the girls were pink. I think it will be a marvelous idea, there is so much space here and they can have their own playroom…”

Evelyn moaned as the pain in her hip was nearly tolerable.

“Justine?”

“Use my name.”

“How’s your hip?”

“Are you really asking me that right now,” she snapped.

If she had the strength, she would have gotten to her feet and broken on the flower filled vases over his head and sliced his throat with the leftover pieces. Dom grabbed his medical supplies and hurried to Evelyn as her head started to spin. She didn’t fight him as she suddenly slumped over the side of the couch.

Dom was quick to pull the side of her pants down as he lifted the bandage and curse to himself. Evelyn was weak, looking to her heavily bruised hip as a dark liquid that wasn’t blood flow from the cut.

“Justine?”

Her vision started to blur as she saw her mother rush to her side and lift her from the couch. Over the years in the three hospitals she worked, her mother was the best out of all the nurses, a regular Nurse Jackie without the addiction.

“Stay with me, Justine!”

Her skin had grown clammy in a matter of minutes as she lurched over in his arms in pain. Dom ran from the room to find a same doctor in the mix of the colony. Bribing was the best way to find what he was looking for. He armed himself with a weapon, a simple necessity as he pulled on a jacket and headed to one of the lower floors of the buildings of the cluster colony that was now his and his Justine’s new home. He had stolen a great amount of medicine for himself and more for a lone floor all to himself from the habitants of the colony in a matter of hours but he figured the Ovan wouldn’t need it now that she was dead.

The doors to the elevator opened as he stepped inside and prayed that he didn’t cause anything internal to happen to her.

-

Thomas woke looking around the room as the curtain shielded him from the voices.

“Evel…”

He couched, trying to find air as he sat up and moaned. His head pounded as he pushed off the blanket to the bed. Emma flung back the curtains and rushed to his side.

“Stop it, Thomas. You need to lay back down.”

“No!”

“Yes,” said Marren as she appeared donning a pair of gloves.

She looked so different from what she normally looked like. Her jacket was off and her sleeves were rolled up her arms. Her long hair was twisted up into a bun and her steady hands injected Tom with a sedative to ease him as he fell back to the bed.

“Ple…”

He groaned as he did everything he could to fight the sedative.

“I’m sorry, Tom…”

Her strong voice hummed and echoed in the back of his mind. He took a breath in and tried not to see his mother into her place as she smoothed back his sweating blonde curls.

“Just rest for now,” she turned up as her blonde hair darkened completely with a smile but look of worry to her eye, “He’s going into cardiac arrest. Get the next available chemist!”

“Not him, not him…”

“You’ll get off your ass if you want another hit. NOW MOVE!”

Dom grabbed the collar of one of the runaway doctors that fled to the Echo colony when he tried to traffic drugs for extra units. When he was caught, he took everything he could and fled to the untouchable patch of land a day’s ride from any of the colonies. Now Dom was like him but he knew he’d never be strung out on drugs. He would never do that to Justine.

If she would live through the night, she would need a few days to heal properly and then… Then she would be his. He wouldn’t think of it as forcing her if she had nothing else to lose. He tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator went higher up into the buildings. He swiped his card and punched in the code only he knew for his floor.

The cab shifted sideways as it sped faster to its destination.

“Come on. Come on.”

“Look, mate. You may as well tell me what you did now.”

“Too late, we’re here.”

Dom rushed from the hall and into the furnished foyer to Justine’s room. He scanned his card again to Justine’s room as he was jerked to a stop. The door had only opened part of the way as a bit of brown hair with blonde streaks showed.

“Shit…”

He heaved the door in, sending Justine’s unconscious body down to the floor hard. There was blood mixing in with the dark matter drenching the side of her white pant leg. The doctor rushed inside with his jaw to the floor as he dropped his things and punched Dom in the jaw.

“What the hell did you do to her?!”

“I took out the implant.”

“How long since she had it?”

“Just a few days.”

“You fucking idiot.”

The doctor scooped up Evelyn and laid her out on the dinner table. Dom dropped the stolen supplies he procured and stepped back before he got hit again. He was not a doctor and didn’t want to do anything to further the jeopardy of Evelyn’s health. The doctor injected her with an IV of his own blood. He was careful not to step over the lines between him and the lines keeping Evelyn alive.

“You stupid fucking moron. She’s one of the ones that woke, isn’t she?”

“Why?”

“You are obviously your own brother and you chose a fighter. I heard she walked outside without a mask. I don’t know why she is still alive.”

“Well. This one is 100%,” he boasted.

“Maybe not now.”

“What?”

“You taking out the implant may have fucked up her genetic coding. Good job on waiting, you fucking gearhead.”

“But you can fix this, right?”

The Doctor looked up with his twitching eyes obviously strung out from all the drugs in his system.

“There is a wonderful possibility, a Russian roulette of a chance that she’ll be able to have a child now that you were too stupid to get a doctor.”

“No…”

“Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch!”

There were so many needles sterilized, filled and poked into Evelyn’s skin as she moaned in pain. There was so much pain.

“Tom…”

None of this could be happening. If she was asleep in his arms, she would wake up to find him there. If she was back at the apartment, she would welcome little Henry with open arms and let Tom know how she felt the minute he returned. Even if she was still under, waiting to wake up still naked and hooked up to feeding tubes, she would be there to seeing him again for the first time.

Evelyn…

She turned to the sound of Tom’s voice as he sank to his knees gasping for air. She ran to him, doing everything in her power to reach him before she woke. Tom could feel his head spinning as he looked up to Evelyn running for her life.

Thomas!

He tried to stand to his feet, unable from the pain in his chest as he felt a prick in the side of his chest. There was a trickle of blood running down his side as it glistened. He looked up as her shape began to disappear but not before he saw the side of her hip dripping with blood.

Clear!

Tom’s whole body thumped against the bed as he was brought back to life. He flailed, coughing and calling out for Evelyn as Marren held him down to the bed.

“Breathe, Hiddleston, breathe! You’re no good to me dead.”

He steadied his breathing as he looked down to the blood draining from the straw that was placed in his chest.

“He should be fine now.”

Tom turned to the old man at the side of his bed as he was injected with a mild sedative to make the pain in him go away.

“Father?”

The man was silent as he checked the machine that Tom was hooked up to.

“He’ll be fine after some rest,” the man stated, ignoring Tom, “Tubes can be taken out tomorrow.”

He looked down with sadness in his eyes as he smoothed his son’s hair back.

“What happens now?”

“Nothing, Edward. Echo colony is way out of my jurisdiction. Evelyn is gone and she’s not coming back. We’re limited as it is and more abductions happen every day. Perhaps we should have screened your wife’s workers. No one ever comes back from Echo.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t be insulting her in her memory. It was your dog that killed her in the first place.”

“If you leave, if any of you leave this colony, I will make your lives hell as you rot on the outskirts!”

Marren snapped off her gloves and tossed them into the nearest bin. The man sat next to Tom’s bed as Tom tried to speak.

“Look, boy. I know it’s been 15 years but you need someone with you right now. Your sister’s are handling matters of your mum. She can’t be a donor as she wanted. Her organs were too damaged.”

“H-How?”

His voice wasn’t close to understandable but it was enough.

“There was a wound on the back of her head. He must have knocked her out and reset the windows manually. There was a fair amount of clotting in her brain. She wouldn’t have woken up even if she could. I’m sorry.”

Tom kept his eyes to the ceiling as his father smoothed back the hair on his grown son’s hair. He could feel something tucked under his pillow as he met his father’s eyes.

“Come find me tomorrow when you are better, boy.”

Tom rolled his eyes, not ready to make nice with his father after all this time. His father lowered himself to his ear to make sure that he was heard.

“You man up and find me tomorrow, Thomas. You are going to fight like hell for Evelyn, understand me?”

He kept his sinking eyes to the wall as his father walked from the room and left him to his silence.

-

“One foot in front of the other.”

Tom attempted to sleep but was woken at the chime of his mother’s screen. It was strange for her to not be alive anymore. No more. He turned his head into his pillow, moaning as he willed his lungs to strengthen. He curled up into a ball, trying to come up with a plan to try and save Evelyn from Dom and how he was going to kill him. Bringing him back alive was no longer an option to Tom.

Eye for an eye but it would never justify for the death of his mother…

Tom ran his hand under his pillow, feeling a temporary security badge. He sat up, looking to the plastic, knowing his side of the colony didn’t use the badges. Tom’s brow frowned in confusion as he carefully got to his feet and found his lab coat with his own badge missing.

“This is a bloody mistake,” he whispered to himself.

He dressed as quickly as he could and left the trashed lab behind him before the first set of nurses arrived for him. If he hadn’t left, Marren would have him under 24 hour lock down with no chance to find Evelyn. He hurried down the back corridors of the science buildings, keeping his face down to the floor so that no one and no cameras could identify him.

Tom stopped at the set of doors he promised never to enter since the day his father left his mother. He took a deep breath and clutched the temp badge in his hand, pressing it to the panel and giving him access inside. A hand shot out from the shadowed corridors, startling Tom as he nearly stumbled over his feet.

“Calm down, boy, follow me.”

Tom was confused, hurrying behind his father as he was led through the dimly lit labs and testing areas.

“Where are we going?”

His father grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him along as his anger filled his every vein. Tom swatted at his father, failing to stop him as he was pulled along to hidden doors of one of the dock out of commission for simple matters. Tom stopped as he looked to the group of men loading a few duffle bags worth of supplies and guns loaded with ammunition. The strong hand at his shoulder made him turn to his father as tears fell down his wrinkled face.

“I have always been one for protocol all of my life. Evelyn is the reason I met your mother. She was as strong as I’d ever imagined and I wager that she is too.”

“I-I don’t understand. What have you done?”

“I have known that Dom wasn’t right in the head for the longest. Him and his brother are monsters and need to be stopped. He is not here anymore. He’s smuggled himself and Evelyn to the Echo colony.”

Tom’s blood ran completely cold as the words of the lone, wretched colony met his ears. If Evelyn was there, she wouldn’t be able to survive there long.

“I have to get her!”

“I know, my boy. Your mother was the one to talk to me after all this time and tell me of her. At first, I didn’t believe her but I saw Evelyn myself. I know you love her as I once loved your mother. She is a miracle. You get her back. There is much that we have lost in these dark times and now we must fight like hell.”

The old man reached up and cupped his aged hands around his youngest kid’s face as tears spilled through his fingers.

“You get her back. I will deal with Marren and keep her off your trail for as long as I can. You fight like hell and bring Evelyn home!”

“I-I will.”

A loud bang made everyone in earshot jump as Edward pushed his son toward the two transporters that were rushed to being loaded with what could be brought. Tom watched his father pulled a switch from his pocket as he backed towards the doors. His instinct made him reach for the edge of the closing transport doors as the men around him pulled him back. Edward pulled a mask over his face as light flooded the dock.

Tom banged both of his hands on the transport doors, yelling for his father as he saw the charging explosives plastered around the walls. He opened his mouth and roared, letting the severity of the situation ahead of him as the lights on the explosives beeped faster. The last thing he remembered was his father taking shelter and closing his eyes as his thumb pressed on his trigger. The doors to the lab areas opened a fraction as the transporter sped clear of the blast.

Tom was numbed as his eyes followed the flow of dark smoke as it rose to the sky. He could feel the small prick of the sedative one of the men injected him with.

Good thing, he thought to himself.

If he hadn’t been put down, he would have turned back for his father and ruined his chance to save the woman he loved, if she was still alive. His eyes sank shut as he forced himself to see her smiling face and listen to the strong note of the violin as they danced.

-

Dom sat by himself, feeling his longing for Evelyn hurt him. She was out for a greater part of the night and now he was to blame if he could not have a child with her. He was there spying on all of Evelyn’s charts. She was healthy and fully able to reproduce. That was top prize in the world that he knew and far more than valuable to the world below his feet.

He ignored the shrieks and the smashing pots in the bedroom behind him as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was disappointed to not taking the approach that he wanted with Evelyn. He gave up calling her Justine but she would still be treated as such, though it was time that she learned her place. Dom pushed through the pain in his cock as he clothed himself and attached his weapon to his belt and turned for the bedroom.

Evelyn turned with fury in her eyes as the door opened. Dom smiled and pressed his watch as her polished silver wrists shot behind her back. Her surprise let him overtake her as he tied a chain around her neck. Evelyn fought and kicked with all her might, feeling a sharp but dull pain shoot through her body as she stopped flailing for a moment. She crashed against Dom’s chest as his strong arm drug her to the doors.

“You know, Evelyn, you need to understand this a little better.”

Her head hung as he picked her up before the voltage in her wrists lessened. As she found her footing, he laced his fingers into her streaked hair and pushed her out of the apartment altogether and into the narrow hall leading straight to an elevator. She looked down to the pad that required his fingerprint to access. The sliding doors opened as he pushed them both into the cramped elevator as Evelyn crashed her hip into the metal railing. She cried out in pain as her entire pelvis pulsed in pain.

Dom only smiled as he pushed a button and crossed his arms.

“What am I not understanding?”

“I am trying. I am really trying but you are not making this any easier. So I’m showing you why I’m doing what I do.”

“Go straight to hell,” she hissed through her teeth.

The ding above her head haunted her ears as a smile crossed Dom’s face.

“Wish granted.”

He wrapped his chain around his hand and guided Evelyn forward to the stench of the top ground floor as voices filled her ears.

“I’ll let you think about it but if you do not wish to stay with me then we’ll find someone else to take care of you.”

Dom brought his boot up and kicked open a set of doors as they were greeted with the smell of natural flesh and moans. Evelyn was paralyzed as her eyes surfed over the naked and clothed bodies that writhed and spanned out as far as she could see. Her feet stumbled underneath her as she tried not to get sick on herself. Men and women were everywhere, clawing at one another as Dom pulled her along.

There were a few that turned and looked her in the eye as they smiled toothlessly and licked their lips to her. Dom showed his weapon making them turn for the nearest woman bent over a flat surface. She screamed at the feel of a woman’s hand on her waist, wanting to pull her down to the pit of others they passed. Dom kicked his foot across her face as the rest of the pit laughed and groped at the woman moaning in pain.

Evelyn was lifted from her feet and pulled up into a set of seats easily unreachable by anyone else underneath her. A new set of laughter and moans made her turn to men sitting in leather seats as they pawed their women. Her dark eyes looked to each of the women, obviously drugged and in a stupor as they turned back and grinded themselves harder. Dom pulled her chains back as she choked and crashed to his lap.

His hand yanked her hair back as his other forced its way down the front of her pants. He pinched her healing side as the pain got worse.

“Which one do you want inside of you,” he mockingly whispered into her ear, “I’m sure they’ll try and be gentle with you but they may change when I tell them all who you are.”

He smiled as she tried to fight him through the pain. Both turned to the cheers and the sudden movement of the crowd below.

“Look,” shouted one of the men next to them, “That one’s made it.”

Evelyn felt tears falling from the sides of her face as she saw a heavily pregnant woman being led away by a group of aged women as her clothes and a clear puddle was left behind. The warehouse around them filled with cheers as Dom pulled her higher on his lap. Everything, her hip, her neck, her wrists hurt worse than she could imagine as she fought less. There was no more waking up, this was now an unrealistic nightmare made real.

“Just think. That could be you.”

Evelyn shook her head, unable to speak from the pain as Dom pulled her head back harder.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. That will be you.”

“Fuck you!”

Her hair slipped from his fingers as she headbutted his face with the back of her head. Dom howled in pain as Evelyn launched herself into the sea of people below her. She was lucky and only lucky when she was pulled to her feet. Hands grabbed at her, pulling her in every direction. She could only ram into the nearest person and pray that they were distracted with one another which did work until a shot was fired into the crowd.

She looked over her shoulder to Dom jumping into the crowd behind her and gave chase. Evelyn ran as fast as her feet would allow her as she ventured deeper and deeper into the warehouse. She found cover the farther she went. A hand wrapped around her chain as she was yanked to the floor and surrounded by the cleanest looking men apart from everyone else.

“Lookie, boys! We got us a fresh fish. Let’s put her with the others.”

She was pulled along as she turned her head up to the rows of women, all whom she knew didn’t belong as they hung naked from the ceiling with various men between their legs as they fought the best they could, begging for them to stop and to be let free. Her feet stomped into the concrete floor to try and stop herself from being pulled forward and hung like a piece of fresh meat. Something popped beside her ear made her head spin as she felt blood on the side of her face.

Dom shot the men that touched her with stray bullets killing a few of the women and pulled Evelyn over his shoulders. The aching pain of her body blurred her vision as Dom fought his way back to the elevators. He fired more, killing his way back with none of the others caring as they continued with one another. Sweat poured from his head as the doors closed behind him. His fingers dug into Evelyn’s leg as he braced himself on the back wall.

His thumb flew for the pad and sent them upward to the safety of their floor. Dom carried her back to the apartment, locking each of the deadbolts behind him. His heart pumped from his chest as he hurled Evelyn into the nearest table as it creaked underneath her. He crashed over her, burying his face into her neck with the images of the warehouse fueling his veins with lust and possession. They had touched her, the men that subdued the women that were brought in daily all with hopes of making babies. That’s all they wanted.

Evelyn failed at trying to turn away as Dom tore the side of her pants and shoved his hand down the front. She was unable to close her legs in time as Dom pressed his fingers to her clit. Everything hurt worse. His teeth dug into her neck and his fingers pushed their way into her as she sobbed.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. They weren’t supposed to touch you like that. I never would have let that happen.”

He slowed his hand for her, trying to make her calm as he dragged his tongue up her neck. Evelyn could only drown him out and pray for Tom.

“I was wrong about what I said,” he panted, “That will be you. No matter what you choose. You are 100% and will earn your keep. I think I’ll keep you though. You won’t be like them. You’ll be taken care of. No drugs. No reps. No one else but me and the doctors to make sure you carry properly. You’ll carry clean and not like that.”

He slowed his hand, feeling his fingers wet as he looked down to her. Her face was dotted red from the tears she’d shed and he’d let her continue as she stopped kicking. Her whole body was trembling and it was all because of him, giving him some confidence that she wouldn’t try to run.

“All I want is a boy,” he admitted as he began to pull his hand back, “but have all the ti…”

He spotted at the sight and smell of her blood on his fingertips. His eyes saw the obvious stain of her menstruation as she tried to catch her breath. His demeanor changed as he gathered Evelyn in his arms and headed for the bathroom. He turned at the old knobs to let the rusted water run clean. She felt her restraints let go as her arms fell weak to her side. She had no more strength to fight as Dom pulled off her clothes and held her under the water as the blood fell down the drain. He was generous to wrap and rough towel around her for her decency as he rocked her back and forth through her pain.

“Hush now, Justine. Just let me take care of you.”

She ignored his words as she felt the sting of whatever sedative he used to make her unconscious. The only thing she could count as luck was that her bleeding would give her a few days to try and find a way to escape or kill Dom before she would be used like any of the women floors below her, willing or not.

It wasn’t what she and Tom had. It wasn’t what they felt for one another. He would never be Dom. She could feel in her bones that Tom was alive and out looking for her in the apocalyptic shit storm. He was coming for her and she would be waiting.

-

Tom opened his eyes, feeling stiff but restful as the group of men around him were kept busy. His head hurt as one of the men helped him up.

“Morning, drama queen.”

The rather large man held out a bit of rations for Tom. His teeth dug into the dull bar and eat until he licked at the wrapper. Water was set into his lap as he emptied it in seconds, fighting to not get sick in the same moment.

“Hey, hey. Take it slow, son.”

“What happened?”

“Your daddy is fine. The charges were his idea. He’s safe. He only wanted to make sure that Marren wasn’t after us.”

“W-Who are all of you?”

“We were on the same squad on Dom. We’re helping you get Evelyn home.”

“Why?”

“You don’t understand, lad. Evelyn is like that Guadalupe. She’s a beacon for us, special that one is.”

“She is to me, more than you know.”

“We know, son. That’s why we’re here. That and to clear our status from that horseshit. Your daddy brought us up to speed. When the time comes,” he said placing a loaded gun into Tom’s hand, “we won’t stand in your way.”

Tom calmly handed the weapon, checking the magazine like he was taught when he was younger.

“Good.”

“We’re a few days out. The blast damaged one of the thrusters so we got to stay on the ground for the time being. When we get close, we’ll have to make it quick. Don’t touch any supplies marked. We gotta trade ‘em for parts but we’ll be as quick as we can.”

“Is that as far of the plan that you got?”

“For now, but is I said, we have a day or two.”

Tom felt the timid doctor he was raised to be disappear as the transport drove nearer to their destination. The blast would have put the colony for at least two days to make sure everything was sealed off for efficiency sake. His mother was gone, his family mourning and his father stepping up for the first time in his life. His heavy eyes looked up to the willing men at his disposal. He was going to get Evelyn back and put Dom down like the dog that he was.

“Good,” he said with the cock of his gun, “what have you got so far?”


End file.
